'Unexpected physician shortage': 47 surgeries postponed at Royal Alexandra Hospital

A series of arthroplasty surgeries requiring an inpatient stay at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton have been postponed, Alberta Health Services says.

AHS confirmed to CTV News Edmonton that 47 surgeries initially scheduled at the hospital's orthopedic surgery centre between Wednesday and Friday had to be delayed due to "an unexpected physician shortage."

Kerry Williamson, AHS spokesperson, said day surgeries continued as planned and that other surgeries from different specialties were bumped up to fill the operating room availability created by the shortage.

Regular inpatient surgeries are to resume on Monday, Williamson said.

"AHS will prioritize rescheduling all patients impacted by the postponement and hope to have all patients rebooked for their arthroplasty surgery within the next two weeks," Williamson added.

"We appreciate these situations can be stressful for patients and their families, but the decisions are based on the best medical advice at the time," he said.

"Patient safety is a top priority at AHS, and all safety measures and standards, including appropriate physician staffing levels, must be in place for scheduled surgeries to proceed."