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
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
Video appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating singer Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016
Security video aired by CNN appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
Scottie Scheffler isn't the first pro golfer to be arrested during a tournament
Scottie Scheffler's arrest hours before his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, will go down as one of the most shocking in professional golf history. It certainly wasn't the first, though.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta border: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Anglers reel in 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off coast of Florida: 'She found my bait'
A group of fishers said it took roughly 20 minutes to reel in this 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off the coast of Florida.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
Canadian convicted of attacking Nancy Pelosi's husband with a hammer sentenced to 30 years
The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.
Israeli military finds bodies of 3 Gaza hostages killed at music festival
Israeli military says its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Louk.