Health Minister Tyler Shandro is blaming summer vacations for staff shortages that have forced bed closures and reduced ER coverage in rural hospitals over the next few months. Alberta Health Services has announced bed closures in Edson and St. Paul, and temporary closures of emergency rooms in Boyle, Elk Point, Rocky Mountain House and Fairview. Last Friday, AHS sent a memo informing stakeholders that 10 of 30 acute care beds at the St. Therese-St. Paul Healthcare Centre and five of 12 beds at the Elk Point Healthcare Centre would be closed until Aug. 31. Mothers requiring C-sections will be sent to the Barrhead Healthcare Centre and the Sturgeon Community Hospital in St. Albert. AHS announced June 2 that six of its 25 acute care beds at the health centre in Edson will be closed from June 7 to Sept. 1.

Source: CBC News June 09, 2021 00:45 UTC