Staffing issues postpone elective hip, knee and shoulder surgeries at Royal Alexandra Hospital
Some Albertans will be waiting longer for elective knee, hip and shoulder surgeries after changes to the University of Alberta's residency program.
Alberta Health Services said medical residents of the university's orthopedic surgery division were consolidated at the University of Alberta Hospital starting on Canada Day.
As a result, post-operative support and after-hours coverage at the Royal Alexandra Hospital have been reduced and around 90 orthopedic surgeries have been postponed.
Those include arthroplasty hip, knee and shoulder surgeries, as well as elective spinal surgeries.
Urgent and emergency surgeries will continue at that hospital, AHS said, and work is underway to find "alternative coverage."
"We acknowledge that this is extremely frustrating to those impacted patients, and we apologize for any disruption these postponements will cause," AHS said in a statement Friday. "We are working hard to get those impacted patients rescheduled as quickly as possible."
Friends of Medicare Executive Director Chris Gallaway said the delays are upsetting, but not surprising.
"It's a common thing that's happening in our health care across the province," Gallaway said.
"We have dozens of closures every single day and we have for years across the province in hospitals, health-care centres, operating rooms, emergency rooms … that's the crisis we're in."
Gallaway said more investment in public health care and comprehensive health care workforce strategy are needed to address long wait times.
The health minister's office said the decision to move residents was the University of Alberta School of Medicine's choice and that Alberta Health is reviewing options to prevent similar situations in the future.
The University of Alberta said it empathizes with patients whose surgeries have been delayed, but said staffing is AHS's responsibility.
"All medical schools in Canada are required to follow these accreditation standards for medical residents. These standards require our residents to receive proper supervision and adequate on-call coverage," said university spokesperson Ross Neitz on Friday.
Neitz said resident shift rotations will continue at the Royal Alexandra Hospital during hours where the required supervision is available.
AHS said Edmonton Zone arthroplasty hip and knee surgeries will continue as usual at the Misericordia Community Hospital, and arthroplasty shoulder surgeries will continue at the Sturgeon Community Hospital and the University of Alberta Hospital.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ex-Quebec junior hockey players jailed for sexual assault of teen at hotel in 2021
Two former Quebec junior hockey players were handed prison sentences Monday for sexually assaulting a minor at a hotel in June 2021 in the aftermath of a Victoriaville Tigres championship celebration.
Ticketmaster reports 'data security incident,' customers' personal information may have been stolen
Ticketmaster says it was the victim of a 'data security incident' and the information customers provide to the company may have been compromised.
Bodies of 3 mountaineers recovered near Squamish, B.C.
The bodies of three mountaineers who died on a difficult climb near Squamish, B.C., earlier this year have been recovered, authorities said Monday.
Parkinson's specialist met with Biden's physician at the White House earlier this year, records show
A top Parkinson’s disease specialist held a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden’s physician at the White House earlier this year, according to records.
Alice Munro's daughter sees outpouring of messages after essay on mother's silence to her sexual abuse
Social media saw a flood of messages for Andrea Robin Skinner, daughter of late Canadian author Alice Munro, after an eye-opening personal essay about her sexual abuse by her stepfather published this weekend.
Actor known for roles on 'Bob's Burgers' and 'Arrested Development' pleads guilty over role in Capitol Attack
Jay Johnston, known for his roles on 'Bob's Burgers' and 'Arrested Development,' pleaded guilty Monday over his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack.
Barcelona anti-tourism protesters fire water pistols at visitors
Protesters in Barcelona have sprayed visitors with water as part of a demonstration against mass tourism.
Bombs found planted in rural Sask. mailboxes are modified fireworks: RCMP
Officers from the Saskatoon RCMP detachment say they believe someone is leaving bombs in rural mailboxes.
The most devastating sleep disorder of all, according to an expert
Jill was in middle school when she began eating in her sleep. Despite carrying the food back to her bed to devour night after night, she didn’t have a clue about what she had done until the next morning.