An influx of new family doctors are expected to begin practicing in the first half of 2023. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge welcomes four new family doctors, more to start in early 2023

Jan 5, 2023 | 2:34 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Residents in the Lethbridge area who currently do not have a family physician should keep their eyes peeled.

Alberta Health Services (AHS) is reporting progress with its efforts to bring as many as 17 new international family doctors to the city.

As of January 3, 2023, they say an additional four physicians have begun practicing, three of whom started in October 2022 while one got to work in December.

Due to privacy reasons, AHS cannot say at which clinics they work.

AHS adds in a statement to LNN that the incoming doctors, due to receiving their degrees in other parts of the world, have been busy completing their practice readiness assessments with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA).

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“It is hoped that two more will begin their practice in this month, five between February and April, and the final six between May and July,” says AHS.

Despite the recent success in bringing a few more physicians to Lethbridge, the Alberta Find a Doctor website still shows no family doctors in the city who are accepting new patients.

In its most recent Physician Resources in Alberta report, covering the period between July 1 and September 30, 2022, the CPSA states that there were 274 fully-registered physicians practicing in Lethbridge. This represents a decrease of four doctors from the previous quarter and 23 fewer than in the same period the previous year.

The Chinook Primary Care Network (CPCN) said in a presentation to Lethbridge City Council in December 2021 that nearly one-quarter of people in the Lethbridge area, or 45,733 residents, did not have access to a family physician. LNN has reached out to the CPCN for updated statistics.

Doctor recruitment and retention is something that the City of Lethbridge has taken on as a priority.

In May 2022, city council approved a series of initiatives aimed at bringing more doctors to Lethbridge, including an advertising campaign.

A spokesperson from the city told LNN that, so far, the campaign has had “very strong results.”

The first phase included targeted ads at medical schools across the country with a goal of helping prospective physicians to learn more about Lethbridge and highlight why it would be a good place to move to.

“Over the course of approximately 8 weeks, the advertisements were seen nearly 500,000 times by 68,000 people resulting in 12,084 clicks to our healthcare recruitment landing page,” reads a statement from the City of Lethbridge.

The second phase of marketing has just begun, which includes refining the target audience and continuing to promote the community to healthcare workers.

READ MORE: Lethbridge City Council approves measures to recruit doctors