COLD LAKE – The Cold Lake Healthcare Centre will temporarily close its emergency department overnight, twice this week due to a lack of on-site physician coverage.
The emergency department will be without on-site physician coverage overnight this evening on Tuesday, Aug. 30. The emergency department will close from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next morning, Wednesday, Aug. 31.
While this is a temporary measure as result of Alberta Health Service’s (AHS) inability to secure locum or permanent coverage for the emergency department's operations, it has become a semi-regular occurrence at the Cold Lake Healthcare Centre.
“This is a temporary measure and AHS is working hard to ensure local residents continue to have access to the care they need during this time,” states a media release by AHS, the provincial health authority.
Nursing staff will remain on-site in the Cold Lake emergency department to provide triage and assessments. They will also make referrals for patients to alternate emergency departments in surrounding communities as needed.
EMS will remain available to the community and will be re-routed to surrounding healthcare centres.
Residents are also reminded to call Health Link at 811, which is available 24/7 for non-emergency health-related questions.
Healthcare facilities near Cold Lake
The nearest emergency department to the Cold Lake Healthcare Centre is the Bonnyville Healthcare Centre over 50 km away.
The Elk Point Healthcare Centre is more than 100km away.
The St. Therese - St. Paul Healthcare Centre is about 120 km from Cold Lake.
The William J. Cadzow – Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre is nearly 150 km away – approximately 1.5 hours away.
