AHS confirms four new doctors have arrived in Lethbridge

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on January 7, 2023.

With the beginning of a new year, many residents are hoping to start it off with a clean bill of health. But like a lot of the province, many in southern Alberta are still unable to find a family doctor.

Recruitment efforts have ramped up in Lethbridge. Last year in September it was announced 17 new doctors would be coming to the city. But with the start of 2023 many residents are still unable to find a doctor and have to resort to going outside the city limits for medical services.

“Seventeen family medicine physicians have committed to the community of Lethbridge. As of January 3, 2023, four physicians have begun practicing,” reads a statement from AHS.

Although AHS states four doctors have begun practicing in Lethbridge, Alberta Find a Doctor (albertafindadoctor.ca) shows only three doctors accepting new patients at the Prairie Treatment Opioid Dependency Clinic as of Friday afternoon.

However, AHS could provide few details on who these four doctors are, or where they are practicing.

Though the search is challenging, there is still hope for more doctors on the way.

“As they work through their CPSA practice readiness assessments (PRA), it is hoped that two more will begin their practice in this month, five between February and April, and the final six between May and July,” continues AHS in their statement. “AHS values the work our physicians and healthcare teams do every day in communities across Alberta. We remain committed to supporting recruitment and retention efforts to ensure we are there for our patients and families when they need us the most.”

With the topic of healthcare and an election on the horizon, politicians are hoping to tailor their campaigns towards these issues.

“In Lethbridge, in that region more than 40,000 people have no access to a family doctor,” said Shannon Phillips, MLA for Lethbridge-West, during a press conference Friday in Calgary. “This has been the situation for about a year and a half coming up on two years now.”

With many residents needing a family doctor and a steady rise in respiratory illness in Alberta, the need for doctors in the city is growing more immediate as the new year progresses.