A lack of obstetricians means starting Saturday, the Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital will temporarily send expectant parents to the Sturgeon Community Hospital in St. Albert.

In a Friday news release, Alberta Health Services (AHS) said pregnant patients who planned on delivering at the hospital “will need to adjust their birth plan” to deliver at the Sturgeon Community Hospital, which is just under 40 kilometres west of Fort Saskatchewan.

Services are expected to resume at the facility on Aug. 21. The Fort Saskatchewan acute care facility northeast of Edmonton typically has two obstetricians, physicians who specialize in pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care.

It’s the latest health-care facility in Alberta to temporarily shut its doors to some patients or adjust its hours because of staffing issues.

Amid a capacity squeeze in emergency departments earlier this week, AHS directed Edmonton hospitals to admit patients to beds in hallways. As of Thursday afternoon, however, AHS announced the requirement was lifted, although the practice could still be happening in some locations to ease pressures on emergency rooms.

While the NDP has blamed the closures and other measures on what it calls the UCP government’s attacks on health care, the government has noted that sustained pressures on the system, due to the continued impacts of COVID-19, as well as increased staff vacancies and absences, are happening across the country.

AHS noted that the Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital emergency department remains open for urgent and emergent care, and that all patients requiring immediate medical care should phone 911.

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