Lethbridge residents now travelling to find family doctors as physician shortage worsens
Many Lethbridge and area residents hoping to find a new family doctor are now being forced to travel to Calgary, or some of the smaller rural communities in southern Alberta.
The provincial government maintains there are lots of physicians in Alberta, but that’s not the case in Lethbridge, where many physicians have either retired or moved to take positions elsewhere.
Some patients are blaming what they see as the UCP government’s attack on health care professionals for the shortage.
Linda Richards lives south of Lethbridge, but considers the city to be her “business centre,” where she shops, purchases groceries, and was attended to by her family doctor.
“To have him leaving was a surprise,” said Richards. “What was startling was there were no replacements.”
Richards discovered the only physicians in Lethbridge taking new patients were doctors at the Prairie Treatment Opioid Dependency Clinic.
When she called the Chinook Primary Care Network seeking help, she was told her other options were to try the Fort Macleod Medical Clinic or the Blood Tribe Clinic in Stand Off.
“The idea of driving to see someone who is a distance away doesn’t seem like a very appealing choice,” said Richards. “But it’s the only choice right now."
“It’s just beyond me that we are in a situation where we can’t attract docs in a city like Lethbridge,” said Robert Luco, who has a short, three-minute drive to Lethbridge from his farm near the airport.
Robert Luco is concerned about the loss of his family doctor in Lethbridge.
Robert Luco is concerned about the loss of his family doctor in Lethbridge.
Luco was notified in August that his family doctor was also leaving. In a letter to patients, the physician explained it was for both personal reasons and because of the political climate in Alberta.
“The last 18 months have been bitter for everyone. Our current Provincial Government has not made things easy for the medical profession in Alberta," the letter stated.
"I fear this is going to make recruiting new doctors to our clinic extremely difficult.”
Concerned about what was happening, both Luco and Richards contacted Cardston-Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter (UCP).
“He just said there are all kinds of doctors in Alberta,” said Richards, who added Hunter also promised to look into the situation and get back to her.
In an interview with CTV News Hunter acknowledged that his office had received “a handful” of phone calls on the issue, mostly from the western part of his riding, which borders the city.
“I heard just recently that in Lethbridge and some of the Southern Zone there are some health care professions that are understaffed and we need to rectify the situation,” said Hunter.
He added the health minister is aware of the issue and trying to work through it.
Hunter maintains province-wide there is no shortage of family physicians, and that Alberta has more doctors than it did prior to the pandemic.
“In terms of what’s happening in Lethbridge, there might be a micro-situation there that we have to address," he said.
Medical clinic managers in Lethbridge suggest physician numbers do not tell the whole story. They point out a number of family doctors who don’t work full-time.
Alberta Health Services has also taken over control of assessments of international physicians, which in essence, has resulted in a freeze on the recruitment of physicians from outside the country.
The fact that the province has not been able to reach a new master agreement with physicians hasn’t helped.
Richards said until recently she never imagined there would be a shortage of doctors in Canada.
“To come to a province that has been as wealthy and well prepared as Alberta has been in so many ways, it just feels we’ve fallen off of a cliff in being able to keep physicians.”
Luco says the loss of his physician will also affect his son, a good friend, and two other people that he knows personally, “and all of us have health issues that need to be dealt with.”
He is concerned the growing shortage will result in more visits to the emergency room, which would be more costly and is not ideal during the pandemic.
“I don’t think this is an uncommon thing at this point, but it’s certainly unacceptable,” said Luco.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.