(Anna Jurkovska | Dreamstime.com)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

could get worse before better

Red Deer Regional Hospital dealing with anesthesiologist shortage

Apr 9, 2021 | 9:58 AM

Red Deer Regional Hospital is severely lacking anesthesiologists, a situation which could become worse before improving.

Based on population alone, and comparing to the number of anesthesiologists in Calgary, Red Deer should have between 30 to 35 anesthesiologists. If the hospital had all of its operating rooms open, 20 would suffice.

However the current number of anesthesiologists at the Central Zone’s largest hospital is just 13.

Four were recently lost to relocation, and at least one more will retire by end of 2021.

Dr. Karim Mohamed, a local anesthesiologist, tells rdnewsNOW there are three to four more within a few years of retiring, and two to three considering leaving Red Deer if the situation doesn’t improve.

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For now, he says, there’s no surefire solution in sight.

“We do more on-call than any of the sites in Ottawa where I did my residency, and more than most in Calgary, plus we have sicker patients. It’s not a super pleasant job. As the department shrinks, it’s going to become more attractive for the rest of us to potentially consider going elsewhere,” says Mohamed, who started at Red Deer Regional in Aug. 2018 when the department had 16 staff.

“It’s not just because of the on-call. When new anesthesiology graduates have a choice of coming to Alberta, many flock to Calgary.”

Mohamed notes there’s actually a national shortage of anesthesiologists, something the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) addressed last summer when it wrote that the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society predicted a nationwide shortfall in 2019.

The CMAJ also points out that 13 per cent of 3,300 Canadian anesthesiologists are over 65.

“Speaking to colleagues at South Health and Rocky View in Calgary, they have much more support while on-call, with a dedicated respiratory therapist for the operating rooms (OR) overnight, and another anesthesiologist covering obstetrics while others focus on the OR,” Mohamed says. “Here, an anesthesiologist is covering the OR, the wards, obstetrics, and they don’t have any respiratory therapist support. We’re on our own. It’s remarkably busy and difficult, and unlike anywhere I’ve ever worked before.”

Anesthesiology department members at Red Deer Regional are working between 59 to 80 hours a week.

Mohamed is 34, so he can ‘hack it’ for a while, he says. But for older staff it isn’t sustainable.

He says the situation needs a solution within six months.

“Alberta Health Services is aggressively recruiting for anesthesiologists to practice in Red Deer, following the recent departure of four specialists from the area. We presently have four positions posted in various stages of recruitment, with an additional position to be posted this month,” an AHS spokesperson told rdnewsNOW.

“We remain committed to stepping up our recruitment efforts to support their work. AHS has a dedicated team in place focused on implementing solutions to support recruitment of anesthesiologists.”

AHS also notes two anesthesiologists have indicated they are willing to go from part-time to full-time hours this summer.

“In the meantime, AHS is working to ensure surgical coverage is provided so that patients are not impacted. This includes working with anesthesiologists to support part-time roles within AHS and exploring alternate models for anesthesia care.”

Mohamed says while patients’ lives aren’t at risk, their quality of life certainly is because elective surgeries will be delayed as department staff are committed to being there for emergency surgeries.

“It’s a slap in the face to Red Deer when a building in Calgary is getting a billion dollars,” he suggests. “Underfunding for Central Zone and Red Deer has been a problem for many years.”

Mohamed says they’ve talked with AHS about possibly having excess anesthesiologists from Calgary and Edmonton come in to help at Red Deer Regional.

Mohamed points to a November 2020 release from the American College of Surgeons as evidence that Red Deer Regional Hospital is a great place work.

The ACS’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program recognized 89 of an eligible 607 hospitals for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2019, Red Deer once again making the list for consecutive years.

That’s why for the longer term, Mohamed adds, recruiting grads to Red Deer would be easier if they were mandated to do a rotation during their residency in the city.

“Once they see that the hospital is great and the city is great, they’re more likely to sign up for a job here.”