The world will not suddenly end on June 1 when doctors in Sylvan Lake stop offering an after hours service.
Instead, it will be a slow trickle down affect. One by one, the citizens of Sylvan Lake will start to notice the true impact not having access to after hour medical care can have on a community.
Without after hour services, seniors will see themselves heading to Red Deer in the dead of night after having a non life-threatening episode.Although the senior will surely live, their incident still requires medical attention, instead of it being treated within minutes of their home; it’s off to the city they go, a half hour both ways and a minimum two hour wait time.
Young children and students will see themselves missing school the next day, too tired to attend class after a long night in Red Deer RegionalHospital’s emergency room.
Already the community is strained. Local doctors have been managing the near impossible for many years. Running after hours on call services out of closed clinics. Long days and even longer nights for the brave medical professionals of the area, although admirable were forced to end in the interest of both patient and doctor safety.
Now the community waits patiently once more, just as they’ve done for the last 25 years following multiple promises of funding from the past government. Currently Sylvan Lake’s patience sits upon a date being set to meet with Deputy Health Minister, Carl Amrhein.
This meeting holds the potential to give adequate access to health care for not only the residents of Sylvan Lake and area, but also the nearly one million visitors the town sees annually.
In the forefront of the local Urgent Care Committee’s minds is setting a date with Mr. Amrhein to determine the fate of urgent care in Sylvan Lake.However, concerns are arising.
‘It’s really easy for people, when they are on the hot seat, to say they are going to come back to Sylvan Lake,” said Susan Samson, chair of the SylvanLake and area Urgent Care Committee. “Now we are hearing that we are going to have a meeting ‘sometime’ this summer.”
Samson stated she feels it is nearing the point of being past a conversational matter.
“It’s either are they’re going to fund urgent care in Sylvan Lake or not?” she stated. “If you’re not going to fund it, explain to us what we are supposed to do and what model they would see work.”
“When we did our business plan in the summer of 2014, we talked to FCSS, Community Partners, the RCMP – you name it, we talked to them. We’ve talked; we’ve had these conversations. We’ve already done all that. There’s nothing left to talk about.”
Alas, Laker’s are not prepared to sit by idly while bureaucrats make a decision that will never impact them personally, but rather the lives many thousand families and multiple communities. Instead, a more active route is being mapped.
Plans are set for a rally to be held in support of urgent care in Sylvan Lake on May 25 at 7 p.m. at the Sylvan Lake Community Centre.
- Swan, editor@sylvanlakenews.com
A message from the Sylvan Lake Urgent Care Committee:
It’s been two weeks since Sylvan Lake and Area has been shut out of the Provincial budget for enhanced health care. Sylvan Lake and Area residents are also faced with the local doctors discontinuing the unsafe practise of seeing sick patients after hours without support.
The Urgent Care Committee is not accepting the rejection of the Province and we are standing up for same enhanced health care that most Albertans have at their immediate access.
To be successful in our next stage of lobbying the government, we need to hear all your voices – the Government needs to hear you!
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STAND UP FOR URGENT CARE?
Write a letter to the Health Minister, Honourable Sarah Hoffman and tell her why enhanced health care is important to you and your loved ones. Let’s flood her mailboxes with support and concern. (More addresses can be found on our Facebook page)
Minister of Health, Office of the Minister
423 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5K 2B6
DO YOU HAVE AN EMERGENCY VISIT STORY?
We’re collecting them. An Urgent Care Centre provides services for people who have unexpected but non-life threatening concerns such as broken bones, sprains, lacerations, asthma, dehydration, pain and infections for a few examples. Have you had an Emergency visit and feel you could have been taken care of at our own Urgent Care Centre? Where did you go? How long was your wait? What inconveniences did you endure travelling elsewhere? Tell us about it. Go ahead fill our inbox. Share it on our Facebook Page: Sylvan Lake & Area Urgent Care
SHARE YOUR MEDICAL STORY ON A VIDEO.
It will be sent to the Health Minister. Call Joanne at the Town of Sylvan Lake at (403) 887-2141.
ATTEND THE RALLY, Wednesday, May 25th, 7:00 pm, Sylvan Lake Community Centre.
Together we can stand strong, we can stand united. Let’s keep our children, our families and our community safe! Share your voice and your presence to show that you are ready to Stand Up For Sylvan Lake & Area Urgent Care!.
Follow Sylvan Lake & Area Urgent Care or the Sylvan Lake News for your trusted source of accurate details and updates on “Stand Up for Urgent Care”