Temporary service advisory for Grande Cache Emergency Department

GRANDE CACHE — Due to a clinical personnel shortage and an inability to secure temporary coverage, the Grande Cache Community Health Complex emergency department (ED) will be without onsite physician coverage from 8 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7 to 8 a.m. Monday, Nov. 10. 

Nursing staff will remain on-site in the ED providing urgent triage and assessments and referrals for patients to alternate EDs in neighbouring communities.

Patients are asked to call 911 if they have a medical emergency during these times. EMS will remain available to the community and will be re-routed to surrounding facilities, including Hinton Healthcare Centre and Grande Prairie Regional Hospital.

Virtual Emergency Physician coverage may be available for all or part of this service advisory. The Virtual Emergency Physician program uses an experienced ED physician to remotely support facilities temporarily without available on-site ED physician support. Site clinical staff can connect with an AHS physician by telephone or videoconference for ED patients with non-life-threatening issues. This off-site virtual physician can collaborate with local staff, speak with patients, order tests and medications, and transfer or discharge patients.

Community members are reminded to call Health Link at 811, which is available 24/7 for non-emergency health-related questions.

AHS continues to work to find clinical personnel coverage for this time period. If coverage is found, this service advisory will be cancelled.

This is a temporary measure, and AHS is working hard to ensure residents continue to have access to the care they need during this time.

We are grateful for the support of surrounding healthcare centres and medical staff and would like to thank the community for its patience and understanding during this time.

Residents with concerns can provide feedback through our Patient Relations team. For more information, call 1-855-550-2555.

Alberta Health Services provides a range of healthcare services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Our mission is to provide excellent, patient-focused healthcare 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.