Red Deer residents struggling to find health care amid family doctor shortage
As the Alberta UCP and NDP pledge to improve access to health care in the province, Red Deer residents are struggling to find a family doctor.
On Friday, the Alberta Primary Care Network website showed no family doctors in the city accepting new patients.
According to the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons Database, four general practitioners in Red Deer are taking new patients without referrals. However, when called by CTV News Edmonton, all four said they were not.
Dr. Peter Bouch is a family physician in Red Deer. He has around 3,000 patients and said he can't handle any more.
"There's a lot of stress going around. There's a lot of workplace fatigue," he said. "I think it's going to get worse before it gets better.
"We don't really have a good lead on trying to find more physicians."
A spokesperson for the Alberta minister of health said last year that more than 250 doctors were added to Alberta's workforce, with 34 going to the central zone.
In the last three months of 2022, 14 doctors went to Red Deer, the spokesperson said.
"It doesn't mean that those doctors are necessarily working in family medicine and accepting new patients," said NDP health critic David Shepherd. "So, the reality is what Albertans are seeing on the ground and it shows where this government has failed."
One of the problems, Bouch said, is keeping doctors in the city once they've come in.
"Physicians come here to do their residency but are predominantly wanting to go to rural areas afterwards," he added.
With the lack of options for primary care, many residents have had to turn to walk-in clinics. Even that has proven difficult for some.
Lynn Van Laar is fighting a lung infection and said she was turned away by five walk-in clinics before she was able to get in to see a doctor.
"I'm going to persevere," she said. "But the average person might say, 'No, I'm just going to wait in [emergency] because then for sure I know somebody is going to see me.’"
In a Friday press release, the NDP said Lethbridge residents are also seeing shortages, with one in three unable to access a primary care physician.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.