Lethbridge doctors worry about patient safety as ER staffing shortage drags on
AHS trying to hire 7 more ER doctors for Chinook Regional Hospital
Emergency room doctors in Lethbridge are warning that ongoing staffing shortages could make growing wait times even longer.
An open letter signed by 16 physicians says the Chinook Regional Hospital has struggled to recruit emergency department physicians and wait times are ballooning as a result.
This isn't the first time the public has been alerted about the issue. Last summer, Alberta Health Services issued a notice about the shortage and warned people to expect longer wait times at the southern Alberta facility.
"We feel a little bit like we're hanging on by the skin of our teeth some days," Dr. Sean Wilde, an ER doctor who signed the letter, said in an interview with CBC News.
"We just want people to be aware that this is a problem that has not yet been solved."
According to Wilde, the ER needs at least seven physicians working during a 24 hour period.
They're often down to six and are facing periods over the summer where they could be running their ER with only five physicians, he said.
"If you look back a few years it was fairly uncommon to have to wait more than four hours in our department to be seen. But there's quite a few days now where we're seeing waits get to six, seven, eight — even nine hours — to be seen," said Wilde.
The doctors caution those waits will likely get longer in the coming months.
"There are cases we're aware of where people probably did a lot worst than they would have if we'd seen them earlier. We're pretty sure that's the case. The waits have definitely contributed to patient harm in the last year."
The sickest patients — including those suffering from a heart attack or stroke — will still be seen right away, said Wilde.
But people with problems such as appendicitis, intestinal blockages or those developing a serious infection may end up waiting longer.
"They're often not that sick when they first get here but over the time they're going to get worse. And those are the ones we worry about the most," said Wilde.
According to Wilde the hospital has lost physicians to retirement and others have left to work in other provinces over the last few years.
At the same time, he said, it's been increasingly difficult to recruit new physicians.
"This is part of a larger, nationwide shortage of doctors and a decline in the number of physicians choosing to practice in Alberta. This decline is related to ongoing political instability and the steady loss of the previous Alberta financial advantage," the letter states.
According to Wilde, the Lethbridge ER has grown dependent on locum physicians who fill in on a temporary basis.
"Many [doctors] are choosing to go to larger cities which are now recruiting more aggressively than they did in the past," said Wilde.
Some physicians who remain are reducing their hours because of burnout, he added.
AHS working to recruit seven doctors
In a written statement, Alberta Health Services said it recognizes many physicians are facing pressures in the delivery of health services.
According to AHS, Chinook Regional Hospital has 17 emergency medicine physicians and it is working to recruit seven more.
"Two new physicians were hired in 2024, and three additional candidates have recently been interviewed and are in the midst of the recruitment process," a spokesperson said in an email.
"Despite these ongoing efforts and locum coverage, the emergency department continues to experience shortages."
According to AHS, patients at the hospital continue to be prioritized for care based on the severity of their medical condition.
"However, those with less acute issues may experience longer-than-usual wait times, despite the hospital traditionally having some of the shortest wait times in Alberta," the email said.
"AHS remains committed to supporting recruitment and retention efforts — including in Lethbridge — to ensure patients and families have access to high-quality care."
- Doctors, health advocates warn Alberta's budget falls short as costs rising
- Health care turmoil continues with Alberta Health Services staff transfers, terminations
Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare, said there are similar concerns across the province.
"Emergency room closures are already happening more and more as we head in to the summer," he said pointing to recent closures in communities such as Fort MacLeod.
Gallaway is calling for a health care workforce plan to address Alberta's ongoing recruitment issues.
"We need a plan that actually maps out who we have, looks at retention, looks at recruitment, connects it to training and actually provides the health care Albertans need," he said.
"We haven't seen that kind of approach. And we're seeing that play out in Lethbridge where they're struggling to recruit and keep their facility fully operating."
Last year the province said it was working to update a 2023 work force strategy, in response to similar calls from the Alberta Medical Association.
Meanwhile, an official with the new Ministry of Hospital and Surgical Health Services said in an email that the overall number of physicians registered in Alberta increased by 4.2 per cent in the first three months of 2025 over the same period last year.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta's latest quarterly report shows the number of fully registered physicians (including those fully certified and those approved to work conditionally who may be waiting for paperwork or work experience) increased by 491 — to 12,123 from 11,632 — during the referenced time period.
However, that total dropped by 89 physicians in the first three months of this year compared to the final quarter of 2024 when 12,212 were registered.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
