The Daysland Health Centre Emergency Department, located 43 km east of Camrose, AB, will be without overnight on-site physician coverage Monday to Thursday throughout October. .A Thursday press release said the ED will be closed from Monday to Thursday 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. due to a lack of physician coverage. It said weekend locum physician coverage for the ED is in place. .The release said it will continue to be open seven days a week Monday to Thursday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 24-hours a day Friday to Sunday. .The release went on to say patients seeking care during this time are asked to call 911. It added ambulances will be rerouted to surrounding facilities. .The Alberta Health Services (AHS) said for urgent care, nurses will remain on site in the ED, providing triage and referring patients to healthcare facilities in surrounding communities by patient’s own transportation or emergency responders if required. AHS said patients will not be seen by a physician during closure hours. .ED services required outside of these hours can be accessed at St. Mary’s Hospital or the Killam Health Care Centre. .AHS said it is grateful for the support of surrounding healthcare centres and medical staff and extends thanks to the community for its patience and understanding during this time..AHS had to post 32 notices of no physician coverage or other service disruptions in several rural Alberta healthcare facilities in January and February. .READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Alberta’s physician shortages cause dozens of rural ER closures.News archives showed there were about 70 notices of no physician coverage or other service disruptions in 2021 and seven in 2020..With the exception of several calls for volunteers, notices of a few facilities affected due to construction, and a four-day closure notice of the Rocky Mountain House Heliport, AHS did not notify of any physician shortages in 2019.
