The Hinton Healthcare Centre will temporarily not have on-site physician coverage at its emergency department for five nights within the next week.
The temporary disruption will occur at the following time periods:
- 9 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 9 to 7 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 10
- 9 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 10 to 7 a.m., Friday, Oct. 11
- 9 p.m., Friday, Oct. 11 to 7 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 11
- 9 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 12 to 7 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 13
- 9 p.m., Monday, Oct. 14 to 7 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 15
Nursing staff will remain on-site to provide triage, assessments and referrals for patients to alternate emergency rooms in nearby communities, if needed.
EMS will remain available for Hinton, and patients are asked to call 911 for a medical emergency or Health Link at 811 for a non-medical emergency.
Alberta Health Services says it will cancel the disruption if coverage can be found.
The Hinton Healthcare Centre has experienced numerous disruptions over the past year, with Hinton Town Council declaring a local health care crisis. It also provided the Hinton Health Care Foundation with $1 million.
AHS has stated it is working to recruit more doctors to Hinton.
Last week, the Alberta government announced an action plan to address the doctor shortage in rural communities. This plan includes a $16 million bursary program for medical students.
