Sherwood Park hospital downgraded, doctors say

Physicians in Sherwood Park say the first phase of the $160 million hospital now under construction in the community has been downgraded to an urgent care centre.

"It was deemed as a hospital but now last week we found out it's been downgraded to an urgent care centre and that won't even be open right now for 24 hours. Just for 14 hours," said Dr. Jim Adams.

"So our Sherwood Park residents of which 100,000 people still can't go to our local area for care, we're going to have to send them back into Edmonton."

Adams and other physicians brought their concerns about the long-delayed facility to Strathcona County council on Tuesday.

"Here in Strathcona County, we feel like we’re providing second-world care for a first-world community," Adams told councillors.

Premier Alison Redford said her government plans to keep the commitment it made on the Sherwood Park hospital and she dismissed suggestions that residents are getting inadequate care.

"I think those are frankly ridiculous comments," she said Thursday. "We have a state-of-the-art health care system in this province."

Redford said that the opposition and special interest groups will make complaints in advance of next month’s budget.

But Adams said this nothing to do with the budget.