August 11, 2023
BOYLE — Due to a lack of physician availability and inability to secure locum coverage, the Boyle Healthcare Centre emergency department will be without physician coverage August 14 at 9:00 a.m. to August 20 at 8:00 p.m. This disruption may not occur if coverage is found.
Patients are asked to call 911 if they have a medical emergency. EMS will remain available to the community and will be re-routed to surrounding healthcare centres as needed to ensure local residents continue to have access to the emergency services they need.
Nursing staff will continue to be available during the day from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. to triage and assess anyone presenting to the emergency department. Patients may be referred to alternate emergency departments as needed. This includes Athabasca (44 km) and Smoke Lake (77 km).
As part of an existing, temporary change in hours at the Boyle Healthcare Centre, the emergency department is also closed nightly between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. due to a lack of available nursing staff.
Residents are reminded to call Health Link at 811, which is available 24/7 for non-emergency health-related questions.
We are grateful for the support of surrounding healthcare centres and medical staff and would like to thank the community for their patience and understanding.
AHS continues to aggressively recruit healthcare professionals for rural areas. We have several initiatives underway to help support recruitment efforts including northern incentive programs as well as working closely with practicing professionals and the community. The Alberta Rural Health Professions Action Plan is also in place, aiming to improve rural medical services for communities, support rural practitioners and recruit new talent.
Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Our mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans. Our current focus is on reducing emergency department wait-times, improving EMS response times, increasing access to surgeries, and improving patient flow.
