Richard Froese
South Peace News
Big Lakes County council has received a response from the provincial government about local concerns with healthcare services at the High Prairie Health Complex.
Big Lakes representatives discussed several issues at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta spring convention March 18-20 in Edmonton in a brief pre-scheduled meeting with Yellowhead MLA Martin Long, parliamentary secretary for rural health.
The delegation of four council members and CAO discussed requests for obstetrics, increased operating room capacity, staff recruitment and retention, hospital privileges for physicians, cancer care and demand for a helipad at the hospital.
Big Lakes Reeve Tyler Airth, Kinuso Councillor Roberta Hunt, Grouard Councillor Jeff Chalifoux, South Gilwood – Sunset House Councillor Ann Stewart and CAO David Reynolds explained council’s concerns. Council plans to respond to the letter in the coming weeks.
Long consulted with Health Minister Adriana LaGrange before he wrote a letter of response dated May 22 that was included in the Big Lakes agenda package for the June 12 meeting. Long wrote the following regrding several matters:
Obstetrics
High Prairie area residents have pre-natal and post-natal service support from local physicians.
Local obstetrics programs provide deliveries (of babies) at facilities in Slave Lake, Grande Prairie, Peace River, and Edmonton, Long states.
However, obstetrics is currently not available in Slave Lake, South Peace News has learned.
Obstetrics was offered at High Prairie from March 2019 to May 2020.
“The program remains paused, due to a lack of obstetrics-trained staff and physicians,” Long says.
That said, Alberta Health Services (AHS) is working to resume a scheduled obstetrics program in Slave Lake.
The program will be offered during scheduled hours until obstetrics and operating room- trained nurses can be recruited and trained.
Operating room capacity
Currently, one operating room at the High Prairie Health Complex is functioning, with space for a second one, the letter says.
“As the functional operating room has not been used for several years due to staff and physicians limitations, plans to develop a second operating room remain on hold,” Long says.
Alberta Health Services continues to recruit for vacant positions and manage effective orientation processes, he says.
Staff recruitment and retention
In Budget 2024, $164 million was allocated towards initiatives to attract, train and retain healthcare professionals for Alberta, Long says.
“This work is supported by Alberta’s Health Workforce Strategy, which addresses specific challenges in rural and remote communities,” Long says.
Funding includes plans to increase the number of physicians trained in the province and includes working with the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary to increase the number of undergraduate medical training seats, residency positions for newly-graduated doctors and residency positions for international medical graduates.
Once the seat expansion is complete, more than 100 additional Alberta-trained physicians every year will be ready to practice.
A key aspect of the physician training expansion is a partnership with Northwestern Polytechnic in Grande Prairie and the University of Lethbridge to develop regional training centres to act as hubs in those communities.
“Once realized, the training centres will include inter-professional teaching clinics and the ability for medical students to complete most of their medical education outside the metropolitan regions,” Long says.
“This will benefit all rural communities as evidence shows that students who learn in rural areas are more likely to practise in rural areas after their training is complete.”
Helipad
Decisions about helipads – also called heliports – are more than just patient numbers, Long says.
Factors like hospital infrastructure, distance to he nearest airport and tertiary care by ground ambulance and adherence to Transport Canada safety standards are crucial.
“Whether they are built on hospital property or on community-owned land, heliports must meet rigorous Transport Canada certification requirements to ensure safe and efficient critical patient transfers,” Long says.
Latest rural heliport construction costs are estimated to range from $2.25 million to $3.3 million, he notes.
Operational costs would vary from site to site and depend on multiple factors including nearby amenities of features of the site.
“A review of patient transports from High Prairie indicated that the construction of a heliport at the High Prairie Health Complex would require additional long-term operational infrastructure to maintain the efficacy, safety and regulatory oversight for safe heliport operations,” Long says.
A detailed analysis would be required to determine more accurate estimates for construction, operational and maintenance costs.
“Alberta Health Services is aware of the desire to build a heliport at the High Prairie Health Complex and is committed to working with the community to explore options, Long says.
Currently, helicopters can land safely at High Prairie Airport less than seven kilometres away from the hospital.
AHS has recently initiated the Air Ambulance Review, which will examine demand and resources, including how capital funding is reviewed.
“The community is encouraged to continue working with AHS through existing channels,” Long says.