(Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Nearly 1/4 in Lethbridge and area have no family doctor; Presentation

Dec 1, 2021 | 3:51 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A group of doctors took to Lethbridge City Council Wednesday to highlight the severity of the doctor shortage in the area.

At the Cultural and Social Standing Policy Committee meeting, six members of Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the Chinook Primary Care Network (CPCN) detailed the current situation, how it has changed recently, and what they feel needs to be done.

Within the CPCN, which includes both Lethbridge and several surrounding communities, the peak number of participating physicians was 153 in March of 2020.

By the end of December 2021, we are projected to have just 129 practicing doctors in the area, a loss of 24 in a little under two years.

One chart shows that, in March 2017, there were 14,098 “unattached patients,” meaning those without access to a family doctor.

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At the end of this year, that number will have tripled to 45,733.

With an estimated area population of 205,969, that means that approximately 22.2 per cent of people in the CPCN are not attached to a family physician that they can regularly see.

(Alberta Health Services and Chinook Primary Care Network)

The Alberta Find A Doctor website shows that there are currently no family physicians in Lethbridge that are accepting new patients.

According to the group, there are a wide range of reasons why fewer doctors are available, such as:

• Moving elsewhere in the province
• Early retirement
• Reaching the end of a five-year sponsorship
• Recent billing changes by the Alberta Government
• Life transitions
• Personal reasons
• Operating financially non-viable clinics or small businesses

To get things back to a more stable situation, the doctors believe the area will need about 20-30 additional physicians, which will likely include a mix of Canadian and international professionals.

They presented a few potential solutions to the crisis, including:

• Recruitment incentives such as moving expenses, marketing supports, and residency electives
• Sustainable physician practices, mostly surrounding billing changes and overhead
• Innovation, such as creating new local training programs
• Creating specialty clinics and attracting physicians with special skills to meet patient needs
• Supporting the overall wellness of the physician workforce.

City Councillor Mark Campbell says the doctor shortage is something they heard about a lot during this year’s municipal election and is the top concern of the new administration.

“While the role of health care is within the provincial government’s jurisdiction, we recognize how vital it is to the wellbeing of our city. Because of that, City Council wants to be a strong partner with the Provincial Government and Alberta Health Services in helping to find solutions for our community.”

The Committee passed a resolution to refer this information to the City Manager to aid in the continued development of an action plan that will be brought back to city council.

You can watch the full presentation below.