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By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

travel to yyc or yeg no longer necessary

Endocrinology services now available in Red Deer

Sep 29, 2023 | 2:25 PM

Patients in the Red Deer region requiring endocrinology services no longer need to travel to Edmonton or Calgary.

A new specialist, Dr. Haiju Chirayath, is now practising out of the Medical Specialty Clinic at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.

“I’m pleased that central Albertans can now access endocrinology services without needing to travel to Edmonton or Calgary,” says Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health and MLA for Red Deer-North. “Our government is working with our partners to recruit and retain healthcare professionals in communities across the province so Albertans, wherever they live, can get the care they need as close to home and their communities as possible.”

According to AHS, Dr. Chirayath completed his endocrinology training in 2010 at Oxford University in the U.K.

He has a PhD in the field of diabetes in pregnancy from Manchester University, and an MSc in Endocrinology from the University of London. He previously helped establish the endocrinology service in Kelowna, B.C., and is planning to do the same in Red Deer.

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“Because endocrinology covers such a wide range of medical conditions, good endocrine care can really make a difference for patients, and this new service will help support many other healthcare professionals in their work as well,” says Dr. Chirayath.

The doctor will have a primary focus on patients 16 and older with conditions such as diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, hyperlipidemia, obesity, osteoporosis, hypogonadism, as well as thyroid, adrenal, pituitary and parathyroid disease and endocrine disorders in pregnancy.

“Dr. Chirayath’s experience and expertise will help to guide the establishment of an endocrinology program for Red Deer and central Alberta,” says Dr. Jennifer Bestard, Zone Medical Director for the Central Zone of Alberta Health Services. “His addition to the Red Deer hospital team will help patients find the right balance when it comes to endocrine health.”

AHS says it continues to recruit for family physicians across the Central Zone to meet community needs, adding that it has physician resource planners who are dedicated to identifying and pursuing international and domestic physician recruitment opportunities.