COLD LAKE – On Saturday, Alberta Health Services (AHS) announced that the Cold Lake Healthcare Centre Emergency Department will temporarily be without on-site physician coverage for eight-hour and 16-hour periods for approximately one week.
The emergency department’s rolling closures from Jan. 9 - 14 are due to an inability to secure locum physician coverage, according to a statement by AHS.
The Cold Lake Healthcare Centre Emergency Department will be temporarily without on-site physician coverage on the following dates and times:
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From 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 9.
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From 11 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 9 until 7 a.m. Monday, Jan. 10.
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From 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 10.
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From 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 11.
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From 11 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 12 until 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13.
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From 11 p.m., Thursday, Jan.13 until 7 a.m., Friday, Jan. 14.
“This is a temporary measure and AHS is working hard to ensure local residents continue to have access to the care they need during this time,” AHS wrote.
Nursing staff will remain on-site at Cold Lake’s emergency department to provide triage, assessments and referrals for patients to go to other emergency rooms in surrounding communities when necessary.
AHS advises the public to call 911 if they have a medical emergency. EMS will be re-routed to surrounding healthcare centres to ensure area residents are able to access the emergency services they need.
In non-emergency situations residents can call the Health Link at 811, which is available 24/7 for health-related questions.
Healthcare facilities near Cold Lake
The nearest emergency department to the Cold Lake Healthcare Centre is the Bonnyville Healthcare Centre over 50 km away.
The Elk Point Healthcare Centre is more than 100km away. However, the facility’s emergency department has no onsite physician on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 8 a.m. the following day.
The Elk Point facility, like the Cold Lake Healthcare Centre, will have nursing staff on site to assess, triage and refer patients to other medical centres.
The St. Therese - St. Paul Healthcare Centre is about 120 km from Cold Lake and the William J. Cadzow – Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre is nearly 150 km away – approximately 1.5 hours away.
