Alberta announces $39M for nine new urgent care centres

The Alberta government says its latest investment in the province’s health system will more than double its urgent care capacity.

The province announced Monday it is investing $39 million over three years to support planning and land acquisition for nine new urgent care centres across Alberta.

The government says, once operational, the new facilities will increase urgent care capacity by 150 per cent, easing pressure on hospitals by diverting an estimated 300,000 emergency visits a year.

Alberta currently has six facilities in its urgent care network – where people can get same-day treatment for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions. At present, those make up more than one-third of visits to the emergency department, according to the government.

“Urgent care centres help address that gap — when someone has a medical need, an emergency that doesn’t require an overnight stay, or they have a broken bone, a deep cut, or they have an unexpected illness that can’t wait for a family doctor. An urgent care centre can see them quickly,” explained Dr. Sayeh Zielke, the interim CEO of Acute Care Alberta.

The future locations of eight facilities were already known: east Calgary, west and south Edmonton, Stony Plain/Spruce Grove, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Cold Lake and Fort McMurray.

On Monday, the province announced a ninth is planned for Sylvan Lake, west of Red Deer.

Megan Hanson, the mayor of Sylvan Lake, said the planned facility would have a “lasting impact” on the community, and that it represents the next chapter in a push that began in 2010.

“Health care remains one of the most important priorities here in Sylvan Lake for our residents. Families want the confidence that the right care will be available when they need it, and today’s news is a significant step in delivering that for Lakers,” Hanson said.

Adriana LaGrange, Alberta’s minister of hospital and surgical health services, could not provide an exact timeline on when the facilities would be built.

“The funding of $39 million is over three years for the planning and land acquisition,” she said. “If we can make all of the land acquisition and the planning happen quicker, we will absolutely do that. Take that as the furthest time out. But if we can get shovels in the ground in the next year or so on a couple of these, or all of them for that matter — I would love to see all of them going in the next year or so — then we can have those up and running much quicker.

“In some municipalities, I think it will be a little quicker. In others, it might take a little longer. The anticipation is that we’re going to move as quickly as possible on all nine of these sites.”

The minister specified she would like to see the new facilities up and running within three years of getting shovels in the ground.

“A lot depends on infrastructure and how quickly we can build, and get the materials to build and the labour force,” said LaGrange.

Last year, the Danielle Smith government announced it was investing $17 million in eight new urgent care centres.