The Municipal District of Lesser Slave River is expressing frustration after a doctor recruited for the region was relocated to Grande Prairie by provincial health authorities.

During the July 29 Committee of the Whole meeting, council members shared updates from various regional boards. The biggest disappointment came from the Tri-Council Health committee.

After spending local time, money, and resources to bring a new physician to Slave Lake, the doctor was abruptly moved out of the community.

“After a whole pile of work of getting a doctor recruited to Slave Lake, paying the expenses and a lot of our time and coordination and everything else basically, under Alberta Health Services, they essentially poached him and took him up to Grande Prairie,” a committee representative said at the meeting.

The sudden move leaves Slave Lake down a doctor once again. Rural physician shortages have been a long-standing issue across northern Alberta, but local officials acknowledged the specific challenges of retaining medical professionals in smaller towns.

Because Slave Lake does not have an emergency room, it is easier for doctors to maintain their specific medical credentials by working in a larger facility like the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital.

Still, local leaders felt blindsided by the complete lack of warning from the province. The committee is now taking action to demand better communication. They plan to ask the province for direct consultation before moving doctors in the future, firmly requesting that a temporary replacement, or locum, be provided ahead of time if a physician is relocated.

However, there was some positive news on the health care front to balance the frustration. The local hospital currently has a full allotment of nurses for the first time in years, and general staff morale at the facility is reportedly high.

Armaan Khanna 

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter