After the Western Standard released an exclusive story on a shortage of physicians in the province, the UCP provided a statement saying it has done more for the issue than the previous government..The story exposed the growing issue of rural healthcare facilities requiring the temporary closure of emergency departments and other services due to staffing shortages, particularly with physicians..Press secretary to the minister of health, Steve Buick, said the current Alberta government is doing more to support rural healthcare workers than the NDP government had..“We’re continuing our $90 million a year in dedicated spending to support rural physicians, including the most generous incentives for rural medical practice in Canada,” said Buick..“We’re adding more nurse practitioners to the primary care system in under-served areas via the Primary Care Network NP Support Program.”.Buick said the government is also allocating new funds in Budget 2022 to support rural recruitment, including funding for a new program designed to support 60 new family physicians annually to practice in rural communities..A Rural Capacity Investment Fund will also support the recruitment and retention of nurses in the province and additional funding will go to rural health facility improvements..Buick provided the Western Standard with some background on the situation and said shortages of healthcare professionals caused by the pandemic have been felt across the country and around the world..Buick said most of the service interruptions don’t reduce access to care for patients and said they are usually short-lived disruptions, although most of the AHS notices said these staffing challenges were frequently shutting down several rural emergency departments..He also confirmed the overall number of doctors is increasing across the province and pointed to a recent report on the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta website dated December 31 showing a small net gain in physicians across Alberta..An Alberta registered nurse (RN) said not only has she seen issues caused by physician shortages in the emergency department she works in, she and her family are also struggling to find a family physician for their personal healthcare needs..The RN of 10 years has asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal from her employer..“Many patients are showing up to the ER for minor complaints or concerns,” said the nurse, who suggested the patients should be seeing their family doctors..“This takes up beds for those with more emergent needs..“In my opinion, the ER in my community has been much busier this last year than ever before..“I do not believe this reason is related to the so-called ‘threat’ of the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe the spikes in numbers are due to the lack of physicians available to people in the community.”.The RN said she believes the issue in her ER is because people have nowhere else to go, including her family who lost their physician last year.. “I have yet to find my family and myself a new physician to take us on,” said the RN adding, “This has honestly been a nightmare.”.A Lethbridge homecare worker said she too is witnessing the effects of the healthcare worker shortage..The homecare worker also asked to remain anonymous to avoid any negative recourse from her employer..The worker said Bigelow Fowler South — a major clinic in Lethbridge — was closed a couple of months ago and patients have been left to find a new doctor, while most physicians are already overloaded with patients. .“The nurse practitioners that work in homecare now have to assist the homecare clients that no longer have a doctor with getting their prescription filled because there is no one else to do it for them,” said the worker..“My understanding is that the new billing rules have made it too difficult for the doctors to make money, so they are moving elsewhere.”.More to come….Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
After the Western Standard released an exclusive story on a shortage of physicians in the province, the UCP provided a statement saying it has done more for the issue than the previous government..The story exposed the growing issue of rural healthcare facilities requiring the temporary closure of emergency departments and other services due to staffing shortages, particularly with physicians..Press secretary to the minister of health, Steve Buick, said the current Alberta government is doing more to support rural healthcare workers than the NDP government had..“We’re continuing our $90 million a year in dedicated spending to support rural physicians, including the most generous incentives for rural medical practice in Canada,” said Buick..“We’re adding more nurse practitioners to the primary care system in under-served areas via the Primary Care Network NP Support Program.”.Buick said the government is also allocating new funds in Budget 2022 to support rural recruitment, including funding for a new program designed to support 60 new family physicians annually to practice in rural communities..A Rural Capacity Investment Fund will also support the recruitment and retention of nurses in the province and additional funding will go to rural health facility improvements..Buick provided the Western Standard with some background on the situation and said shortages of healthcare professionals caused by the pandemic have been felt across the country and around the world..Buick said most of the service interruptions don’t reduce access to care for patients and said they are usually short-lived disruptions, although most of the AHS notices said these staffing challenges were frequently shutting down several rural emergency departments..He also confirmed the overall number of doctors is increasing across the province and pointed to a recent report on the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta website dated December 31 showing a small net gain in physicians across Alberta..An Alberta registered nurse (RN) said not only has she seen issues caused by physician shortages in the emergency department she works in, she and her family are also struggling to find a family physician for their personal healthcare needs..The RN of 10 years has asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal from her employer..“Many patients are showing up to the ER for minor complaints or concerns,” said the nurse, who suggested the patients should be seeing their family doctors..“This takes up beds for those with more emergent needs..“In my opinion, the ER in my community has been much busier this last year than ever before..“I do not believe this reason is related to the so-called ‘threat’ of the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe the spikes in numbers are due to the lack of physicians available to people in the community.”.The RN said she believes the issue in her ER is because people have nowhere else to go, including her family who lost their physician last year.. “I have yet to find my family and myself a new physician to take us on,” said the RN adding, “This has honestly been a nightmare.”.A Lethbridge homecare worker said she too is witnessing the effects of the healthcare worker shortage..The homecare worker also asked to remain anonymous to avoid any negative recourse from her employer..The worker said Bigelow Fowler South — a major clinic in Lethbridge — was closed a couple of months ago and patients have been left to find a new doctor, while most physicians are already overloaded with patients. .“The nurse practitioners that work in homecare now have to assist the homecare clients that no longer have a doctor with getting their prescription filled because there is no one else to do it for them,” said the worker..“My understanding is that the new billing rules have made it too difficult for the doctors to make money, so they are moving elsewhere.”.More to come….Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
