Hinton getting more doctors but still experiencing ER interruptions

Alberta Health Services (AHS) continues to recruit more doctors to Hinton, which has suffered multiple interruptions at its health-care centre this year.

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Hinton currently has 12 primary care physicians who support the Hinton Healthcare Centre, as well as two general surgeons, one radiologist and one recently hired orthopedic surgeon.

“AHS is working hard to recruit more physicians to the community to ensure residents continue to have access to the healthcare they need,” said AHS spokesperson Kerry Williamson in an email.

AHS is recruiting an additional five family medicine physicians in Hinton and is now reviewing all eligible applicants.

“Once filled, these positions will support Hinton’s emergency department, community clinic, inpatient and outpatient services, and long-term care,” Williamson said. “Our priority is the safe care of Albertans, and we will continue to work to support physicians and the community alike.”

The Hinton Healthcare Centre last experienced interruptions at its emergency department during the evenings of Sept. 19 and 26. It also had no on-site physician for three nights from Sept. 9 to Sept. 11.

In June, Hinton council declared a local health care crisis and provided the Hinton Health Care Foundation with $1 million, spread over two payments of $500,000 over a two-year span. At the time, the Town said the number of local doctors had gone from 15 to just eight over the past five years.

Shelley Duggan, president of the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) and a critical care specialist in Edmonton, said Hinton wasn’t the only town in Alberta dealing with a doctor shortage, and the roots of the problem date to 2020 when the Jason Kenney government tore up the doctor contract.

“I think it’s more than just money, which is something the government might say,” Duggan said. “I do think there’s a general unhappiness. I think overall, the doctors feel like they’ve been in a bit of a battle over the past several years.”

Duggan explained that disruptions at remote healthcare centres such as Hinton, which is the primary stroke centre for the Yellowhead region, meant patients often had to be transferred to other facilities that could be an hour away.

“It’s very, very disruptive, and I think it’s disruptive right in the community as well,” she said. “Most people who live in smaller areas recognize that they’re a far distance away from specialty care, but they do expect – and should expect – to have good primary care.”

The AMA is hoping to work with the provincial government to change compensation models so communities can better retain and attract doctors.

Duggan added most physicians wanted to come to communities where there were already several physicians to work with.

“Part of the issue is that when one or two physicians leave – let’s say there’s a group of six of them – then it’s almost a spiral of trying to retain the other people and attract new ones so that they know they’re coming into a sustainable work environment,” she said.

Sarah Hoffman, the Alberta NDP’s health critic and former health minister under Rachel Notley’s government, said there were about 800,000 Albertans who didn't have a family doctor.

“This is an absolute crisis, and we need a government that will take it seriously and act for the people of Hinton and other communities across the province,” Hoffman said. “There are already people who are driving an hour to get to Hinton. If they have to go to another hour, that’s even more problematic.”

Given Hinton’s proximity to Jasper, which is recovering from a wildfire, it was even more important to stabilize healthcare services in the region, she noted.

Hoffman explained if she were the health minister, she would sit down at the table with the AMA and sign the deal.

“They already admit that they reached an agreement back in the spring,” she said. “It’s been six months since they landed on terms that they think are fair. It’s always going to make recruitment harder if you don’t have the tools to be able to retain and show respect to the folks that you’re trying to get to come to a community.”

She added the UCP government shouldn’t take it for granted that the AMA was still willing to work with them.

“It doesn’t need to be this way,” she said. “The current government … should follow the advice and the request of the community, which is fix health care, make it stable. The best way to do that is to sign an agreement and make sure that the staff are there to provide the support that we all need.”