Alberta doctors raise alarm about surgical and trauma diversions
CBC
Calling it a "crisis," Alberta doctors say more and more patients in need of emergency surgery are being diverted from one hospital to another, sparking concerns about patient safety.
According to the Alberta Medical Association (AMA), general surgery diversions are occurring with increasing frequency due to staffing shortages, and the group is warning that trauma care is being impacted now, too.
Emergency room patients are often treated by general surgeons for problems such as a ruptured appendix or bowel obstruction.
But the AMA says a shortage of surgical support staff, including medical residents and clinical surgical assistants, means patients often have to be sent to another hospital for that care.
"It's really a crisis situation and the timing is imperative," said Dr. Lloyd Mack, a Calgary-based surgeon and president of the Alberta Medical Association's general surgery section.
"These patients should not be waiting. When patients present for emergency surgery, I think of the clock as ticking. Delay means probable complications. It may mean more severe illness, very quickly, and in the worst-case scenario a patient can die."
Mack said he's aware of 20 situations in the first three months of this year when general surgery diversions were put in place in Calgary hospitals.
According to the AMA, Alberta has been struggling to attract and retain surgical residents.
"The difficulty we have now is the volume of emergency-type patients and less people to look after them," said Mack.
The situation is complicated by other factors, such as the family doctor shortage, which means more patients are ending up in emergency rooms with more advanced health-care problems, often requiring urgent care, the group said.
"We're all very, very concerned that this is having very negative and significant impacts on Albertans," said Dr. Paul Parks, AMA president.
The AMA is also warning the problem has expanded and is now impacting the trauma program at Calgary's Foothills Medical Centre, which is the only Level 1 trauma facility — treating the most critically injured patients — in southern Alberta.
"I can think of a couple of examples where people went to the Peter Lougheed, for example. But that's not a trauma centre," said Mack.
"So it's quite scary. This is unprecedented."
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