July 28, 2021
WESTLOCK — As a result of a staffing shortage, Alberta Health Services has made the decision to reduce the number of acute care beds from 46 to 36 at the Westlock Healthcare Centre from July 26, 2021 until August 29, 2021.
Emergency services, labour and delivery, stroke program and surgical services remain available and operational. We continue to have 36 beds open for patients who need it.
This decision was not taken lightly. The safety of our patients and staff is at the heart of every decision we make. This is a temporary measure to ensure safe and high-quality care for patients, and a quality work environment for staff. AHS continues to look for solutions to address staffing needs.
Our hiring efforts continue and we will reopen spaces as soon as we are able to.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact through staff redeployment and a depletion of the available pool of casual staff, which is being seen across Canada. As well, with frontline staff working extremely hard through the course of the pandemic, staff are taking well-deserved vacation time and we thank them for their incredible efforts through the waves of the pandemic to date.
It is common, especially in the summer – when staffing levels are historically lower as our healthcare workers tend to take more personal time or vacation – for resources to be adjusted to align with staffing levels.
We will continue to support our staff, and work with them, through challenging times such as this to ensure safe care for patients and safe and healthy working conditions for staff.
We will continue to update the community about recruitment efforts and thank the community for their understanding during this time.
