Staff shortages keep operating rooms at High Prairie hospital closed for years

When the $228-million regional hospital in High Prairie, Alta., opened in 2017, the provincial government hailed it as a state-of-the-art facility that would improve the lives of patients in the community.

But six years later, the operating rooms are empty.

According to the Alberta government, the High Prairie Health Complex surgical program has been on pause since 2020.

That leaves the northwest Alberta region of 15,000 people — including several First Nations and Métis Settlements — with a minimum 115-kilometre journey for emergency surgery or to deliver a baby in hospital.

The gap in health care around High Prairie, about 300 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, is a symptom of a concern echoed across Alberta. Even when the infrastructure is available, rural hospitals frequently lack the necessary staff to provide routine medical services.

Dr. Robert Laughlin, a retired physician in High Prairie, said he's seen a decline in locally available medical services since he moved to the community from Scotland 51 years ago.  

"It has a tremendous impact," he said. "[It's] band-aid medicine rather than comprehensive medicine."

The respected physician, who has a High Prairie street named after him, recently had to step away from his practice after personally experiencing the perils of travelling for emergency medical care.

Last year, his appendix burst during the 200-kilometre journey to the hospital in Grande Prairie for surgery.

Surgeons were able to remove his appendix, but the rupture complicated his recovery. 

"It did incapacitate me quite a bit and prevented my return to work," he said. 

Since closing his clinic, he said he's frustrated AHS hasn't done more to recruit new physicians and help them settle in his community. 

WATCH | Operating rooms in High Prairie, Alta., closed due to staffing shortage:

Many people who live around High Prairie can remember the excitement when the new hospital opened in 2017.