Richard Froese
South Peace News

Big Lakes County council has responded to a letter from an MLA who heard concerns from council representatives who shared local healthcare concerns at a brief meeting in March.

Reeve Tyler Airth wrote a letter to Yellowhead MLA Martin Long, parliamentary secretary for rural health.

A delegation of four council members and the CAO discussed several concerns with health- care services at the new High Prairie Health Complex.

Specifically, the Big Lakes group discussed demand for a helipad, hospital obstetrics, chemotherapy treatment, increased operation capacity, staff recruitment and
retention and hosp privileges for physicians.

The meeting was held during the Rural Municipalities Association Spring Convention from March 18-20.

Council received Long’s letter in its agenda package at its regular council meeting June 12.

Copies of the letter from Airth were also forwarded to Lesser Slave Lake MLA Scott Sinclair and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, but not the Town of High Prairie.

In response, Airth starts the letter by stating council is very frustrated by Long’s letter.

“While we appreciate the comprehensive information provided in your letter, we must express our profound disappointment with the current outcomes concerning health service delivery in High Prairie, Big Lakes County and surrounding communities as they seem to lack detail and be in contradiction to our in-person meeting on March 18,” Airth writes.

“The challenges and delays in resuming essential services such as obstetrics, as noted in your statement that ‘the program remains paused due to the lack of obstetrics-trained staff and physicians’ are deeply troubling for council and our residents.

“The inability to fully utilize our operating rooms due to ‘staff and physician limitations’ is a significant impediment to providing necessary health care to our residents.”

Ongoing discussions around building a helipad at the hospital underscore the urgent need for actionable solutions and immediate attention, the reeve writes.

“With the nearest critical-care facility more than 200 kilometres from High Prairie, it is imperative to have the heliport infrastructure in place to save lives in our community,” Airth writes.

“Our wish is to gain insight on the current status of the temporary permit that was granted for the heliport, which was once located in High Prairie, obtained by Alberta Health Services through Aviation Canada.

“Council is acutely aware of the importance of the heliport in our region and is willing to work with AHS to assist with the costs associated with the infrastructure of the heliport.”

Airth reminds Long that the High Prairie Airport is located seven kilometres from the health complex.

Incidentally, on Jan. 11, 2023, a train derailed in High Prairie and blocked direct access to the airport from the hospital for more than 48 hours, leaving the only heliport in the regional inaccessible, he writes.

“We understand that in an event such as this, lives may be lost without access to emergency air services.”

He says the services and concerns are vital for the region.

“These issues are not merely administrative concerns; they are critical to the health, well-being and longevity of our community,” Airth writes.

“The absence of local obstetrics services forces our residents to travel great distances, often in poor weather and critical conditions, to access proper care.

“The underutilization of operating room capacity is a glaring inefficiency that directly impacts patient care.”

He writes the lack of accessible cancer care services and the delay in building a local heliport for emergency medical transport are unacceptable risks that local residents should not have to bear.

Residents need more and better healthcare services, he writes.

“We strongly believe that these issues warrant immediate and thorough reconsideration,” Airth writes.

“We urge you to recognize the gravity of these matters and their direct impact on the lives of our residents.

“Therefore, we are requesting a follow-up meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss these critical issues in detail and to explore tangible solutions that will address these pressing healthcare needs,” he concludes.

Airth invites Long to further work with council on the issues.