Hospitals across the province are increasingly being forced to divert patients to other facilities due to a lack of available services, the Alberta Medical Association warns.
Dr. Paul Parks, AMA president, and Dr. Lloyd Mack, the association's section of general surgery, spoke during a virtual media conference on Monday morning to highlight how patients arriving in emergency or waiting for surgery may not be able to obtain care when they need it.
"This isn't new – diversions have been occurring since January 2023," said Parks.
"What we're experiencing, and seeing more and more, is that this is occurring in all of the (Alberta Health Services) zones in different ways and growing. It's becoming more difficult and more problematic for patient care. Unfortunately it isn't a new issue, but it is becoming critical and having a very significant impact on the lives of Albertans."
Some hospitals are forced to enact diversions due to general surgeons having no Tier 1 (support team) staff available to help with essential work, according to a July general surgery issue paper released by the AMA.
"As a concrete example, you could come see me with pain in your belly and quickly we say, 'That's appendicitis, we need to get you taken care of as quickly as possible so it doesn't rupture, cause complications or may even be life-threatening,'" said Parks.
"You might not realize that there isn't a general surgeon at the site where the (emergency doctor) is seeing you. Or there may be a general surgeon, but there's not the team or ability to take care of that patient in your facility."
Mack said he believes this is a crisis in Alberta health care.
"This is a situation where you arrive at the emergency department, you need immediate surgery, there is an operating room available and there is a general surgeon available, such as myself. But you still can't get your surgery at the hospital as that time. Instead you're put back in an ambulance and sent across town to a different hospital that can provide the surgical care you need," Mack said.
A number of team members need to be available to look after a surgical patient before, during and after surgery, Mack said, adding that team members also have to be available to assess other patients in the emergency room or intensive care unit.
"The chronic shortages of health professionals ... are hitting general surgery patients particularly hard. If those team members aren't there, I can't accept patients from the emergency room. The ER is effectively closed to surgical patients and they have to be sent elsewhere, typically to another hospital that is already busy and now risks becoming overwhelmed as diverted patients continue to arrive," he said.
"These patients should not be waiting. When patients present needing emergency surgery, I think of the clock as ticking. Delaying means probable complications. It may mean more severe illness very quickly and in the worst case scenario, a patient may die from these illnesses."
