Following recurring overnight emergency department (ED) closures at the Rocky Mountain House Health Centre, town council has unanimously passed a motion to put pressure on the provincial government to come up with some sort of solution.
Citing lack of physician coverage, the ED was closed on June 25 the previous week- a situation that Councillor Len Phillips calls “unacceptable”.
During the July 2 regular council meeting, Phillips expressed a concern that such closures are being normalized, adding that it’s a problem that urgently needs to be addressed.
Phillips says while hospital staffing is provincial jurisdiction, it is often members of town council who hear concerns from residents first-hand regarding quality of local health care.
During closures, Alberta Health Services (AHS) says nursing staff remain in the ED to assess any patient who presents to the site. Should they need further care, the patients would then be sent to emergency departments in Sundre, Rimbey or Red Deer.
Phillips says that’s not good enough.
“It’s unacceptable. Period,” says Phillips. “If there’s a doctor available in Edmonton, I would expect someone to drive that doctor here to cover our emergency department.”
Rocky Mountain House Health Centre Photo by 94.5 Rewind Radio/Jordan Rein)
Mayor Debbie Baich also suggested sending a letter to the Physicians Association asking it to make the approval process to acquire more doctors and nurses more streamlined.
Council members also discussed looping in officials from Clearwater County and area First Nations as closures affect them as well.
Council’s motion was to draft a letter expressing urgent concerns about the recent closures to be sent to Premier Danielle Smith, Minister of Health, Adriana LaGrange, and Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre MLA, Jason Nixon.
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