Doctor recruitment to Lethbridge not enough, according to health-care advocate

While the number of doctors in Lethbridge has increased slightly over this past year, it hasn't made a dent in the chronic shortage.

At the end of 2024, there were 310 physicians registered in Lethbridge, according to a report from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta.

That’s 10 more than the same time in 2023.

But health-care advocates say it doesn’t make a dent in the ongoing doctor shortage.

“What we hear is that folks are still struggling to find a family physician. And the latest number I saw was about 700,000 Albertans don’t have a family doctor right now. So we still have a pretty big problem,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare.

Friends of Medicare estimates about 40 per cent of Lethbridge residents don’t have a family doctor.

That’s roughly 40,000 people.

According to Primary Care Networks' find-a-doctor tool, no doctors are currently accepting patients in Lethbridge.

“What we really need in Alberta, in terms of health care, is a plan for capacity and the workforce—the work the government hasn’t done. We’ve been calling for that for years to actually take a look at the workforce across the province—who we have, who we need, where’s the population growing," Gallaway said.

Many residents have had to turn to emergency rooms for care, increasing wait times.

“People are also going to pharmacies. Some of the pharmacies are offering care. That’s taking a few people off the list,” said Bev Muendel-Atherstone, Friends of Medicare Lethbridge chapter president.

Health-care advocates have been critical of the province’s dealings with family physicians.

Delaying the signing of new physician compensation deals and restructuring the health-care system have driven away potential recruits.

“In Alberta, we don’t have a great enticement for doctors to move here. So we’re going to be losing the few doctors that are willing to move to other provinces because we simply do not have a positive climate for physicians in Alberta,” Muendel-Atherstone said.

CTV News reached out to Alberta Health Services but did not receive a comment in time for publication.