Report shows declining number of physicians in Lethbridge

In the South Zone, there were 589 doctors in 2021, marking a drop of 18 from the year prior.

It was a similar situation in Lethbridge.

For the fourth quarter of 2021, the city had 289 fully-registered physicians, which is down by 13 year-over-year, or 4.3%.

Last November, lab services at the Bigelow Fowler South Medical Clinic permanently closed.

We also heard from a group of local doctors in December 2021, informing Lethbridge City Council that approximately 22.2 per cent of people in Lethbridge and the surrounding area, or 45,733, are not attached to a family physician that they can regularly see.

A quick search on AlbertaFindADoctor.ca did not find any family physicians currently accepting new patients in Lethbridge.

The CPSA explains that 140 doctors left Alberta in 2021, 176 retired, 158 experienced a “voluntary erasure,” 87 were removed from the register, and seven passed away.

This makes for the smallest positive net change in provincial physician levels in at least the last five years.

Use the links below the access the full data from the CPSA:

Registration Statistics

Changes in Physician Workforce

Physician Resources in Alberta

by David Opinko

Report shows declining number of physicians in Lethbridge

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