PINCHER CREEK, ALTA. -- The Alberta government’s pay fight with family doctors is spreading across the province and Pincher Creek is the latest rural community to be directly impacted.
Nine doctors in Pincher Creek have served notice they will be resigning from emergency room and obstetrics.
Family doctor Sam Myhr said no one is planning to quit during the COVID-19 pandemic, but many doctors are worried about how to keep the lights on after it’s over.
"It’s already hard to recruit to rural, and we’re trying our best to sound the alarm now, so this eventual crisis doesn’t leave us losing the docs that we have," Myhr said.
The government unilaterally cancelled its master agreement with physicians and replaced it with a new pay and benefits deal. Myhr said it doesn’t meet the needs in rural communities.
Pincher Creek Mayor Don Anderberg said the local clinic will remain open, but losing services like emergency room and obstetrics will have a big impact on the community.
"We have over 100 babies born in the Pincher Creek hospital every year," he said.
Anderberg said the area is also popular in both summer and winter for recreation, so things like car and hiking accidents keep the emergency room busy.
Anderberg said it’s concerning that people may have to drive an hour or more to reach hospital in Lethbridge in the event of an emergency.
"It’s very disheartening to say the least, and very scary also because of all the fallout that may happen from this," he said.
'Going to be left hanging'
NDP Opposition health critic David Shephard said the impact of losing those services will be felt for years to come.
"Pincher Creek is one of the most respected rural training sites in the province for doctors to go get their experience," he said.
Shephard said the government needs to sit down at the table with doctors, take back their contract, and start negotiating in good faith.
"Otherwise, these communities are going to be left hanging," he said.
CTV news reached out to the AHS south zone and the office of Health Minister Tyler Shandro for comment on how the government plans to meet future health needs in the area.
So far, we have not received a response.
The Pincher Creek town council is asking the Alberta Municipalities Association to help lobby for rural communities and try to stave off the impending health-care crisis.
Myhr helped to organize a grassroots movement called The Rural Sustainability Group," which has been speaking for rural physicians.
The group said they’ve surveyed over 300 doctors across the province and nearly half said they could be offering fewer hospital based services by July.
