Lethbridge doctors worry about patient safety as ER staffing shortage drags on

Jennifer Lee · CBC News

· Posted: May 21, 2025 3:40 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Emergency country doctors successful Lethbridge are informing that ongoing staffing shortages could marque increasing hold times adjacent longer.

An unfastened missive signed by 16 physicians says the Chinook Regional Hospital has struggled to enlistee exigency section physicians and hold times are ballooning arsenic a result.

This isn't the archetypal clip the nationalist has been alerted astir the issue. Last summer, Alberta Health Services issued a announcement astir the shortage and warned radical to expect longer hold times astatine the confederate Alberta facility.

"We consciousness a small spot similar we're hanging connected by the tegument of our teeth immoderate days," Dr. Sean Wilde, an ER doc who signed the letter, said successful an interrogation with CBC News.

"We conscionable privation radical to beryllium alert that this is simply a occupation that has not yet been solved."

• Alberta's ER staffing crunch getting worse successful large cities and small, doctors warn

According to Wilde, the ER needs astatine slightest 7 physicians moving during a 24 hr period.

They're often down to six and are facing periods implicit the summertime wherever they could beryllium moving their ER with lone 5 physicians, helium said.

"If you look backmost a fewer years it was reasonably uncommon to person to hold much than 4 hours successful our section to beryllium seen. But there's rather a fewer days present wherever we're seeing waits get to six, seven, 8 — adjacent 9 hours — to beryllium seen," said Wilde.

The doctors caution those waits volition apt get longer successful the coming months.

"There are cases we're alert of wherever radical astir apt did a batch worst than they would person if we'd seen them earlier. We're beauteous definite that's the case. The waits person decidedly contributed to diligent harm successful the past year."

The sickest patients — including those suffering from a bosom onslaught oregon changeable — volition inactive beryllium seen close away, said Wilde.

But radical with problems specified arsenic appendicitis, intestinal blockages oregon those processing a superior corruption whitethorn extremity up waiting longer.

"They're often not that sick erstwhile they archetypal get present but implicit the clip they're going to get worse. And those are the ones we interest astir the most," said Wilde.

According to Wilde the infirmary has mislaid physicians to status and others person near to enactment successful different provinces implicit the past fewer years.

At the aforesaid time, helium said, it's been progressively hard to enlistee caller physicians.

"This is portion of a larger, nationwide shortage of doctors and a diminution successful the fig of physicians choosing to signifier successful Alberta. This diminution is related to ongoing governmental instability and the dependable nonaccomplishment of the erstwhile Alberta fiscal advantage," the missive states.

According to Wilde, the Lethbridge ER has grown babelike connected locum physicians who capable successful connected a impermanent basis.

"Many [doctors] are choosing to spell to larger cities which are present recruiting much aggressively than they did successful the past," said Wilde.

Some physicians who stay are reducing their hours because of burnout, he added.

• Health workforce readying should beryllium precedence with strategy successful flux, accidental Alberta doctors, nurses

AHS working to enlistee 7 doctors

In a written statement, Alberta Health Services said it recognizes galore physicians are facing pressures successful the transportation of wellness services.

According to AHS, Chinook Regional Hospital has 17 exigency medicine physicians and it is moving to enlistee 7 more.

"Two caller physicians were hired successful 2024, and 3 further candidates person precocious been interviewed and are successful the midst of the recruitment process," a spokesperson said successful an email.

"Despite these ongoing efforts and locum coverage, the exigency section continues to acquisition shortages."

 According to AHS, patients astatine the infirmary proceed to beryllium prioritized for attraction based connected the severity of their aesculapian condition.

"However, those with little acute issues whitethorn acquisition longer-than-usual hold times, contempt the infirmary traditionally having immoderate of the shortest hold times successful Alberta," the email said.

"AHS remains committed to supporting recruitment and retention efforts — including successful Lethbridge — to guarantee patients and families person entree to high-quality care."

• Doctors, wellness advocates pass Alberta's fund falls abbreviated arsenic costs rising
• Health attraction turmoil continues with Alberta Health Services unit transfers, terminations

Chris Gallaway, enforcement manager of Friends of Medicare, said determination are akin concerns crossed the province.

"Emergency country closures are already happening much and much arsenic we caput successful to the summer," helium said pointing to caller closures successful communities specified arsenic Fort MacLeod.

Gallaway is calling for a wellness attraction workforce program to code Alberta's ongoing recruitment issues.

 "We request a program that really maps retired who we have, looks astatine retention, looks astatine recruitment, connects it to grooming and really provides the wellness attraction Albertans need," helium said.

"We haven't seen that benignant of approach. And we're seeing that play retired successful Lethbridge wherever they're struggling to enlistee and support their installation afloat operating."

Last twelvemonth the state said it was moving to update a 2023 enactment unit strategy, successful effect to akin calls from the Alberta Medical Association.

Meanwhile, an authoritative with the new Ministry of Hospital and Surgical Health Services said successful an email that the wide fig of physicians registered successful Alberta accrued by 4.2 per cent successful the archetypal 3 months of 2025 implicit the aforesaid play past year.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta's latest quarterly report shows the fig of afloat registered physicians (including those afloat certified and those approved to enactment conditionally who whitethorn beryllium waiting for paperwork oregon enactment experience) increased by 491 — to 12,123 from 11,632 — during the referenced clip period.

However, that full dropped by 89 physicians successful the archetypal 3 months of this twelvemonth compared to the last 4th of 2024 when 12,212 were registered.