AIRDRIE, Alta — As of July 22, Airdrie’s Urgent Care Centre (UCC) will be closed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. the following morning for approximately eight weeks, due to a gap in physician coverage.
According to the City of Airdrie, the closure will leave 80,000 local residents, plus additional members of the community living in Crossfield, north Calgary, and the surrounding Rocky View County, without access to medical care within close proximity.
“This is completely unacceptable,” said Mayor Peter Brown in a press release. “We have been advocating to the provincial government for years for expanded health care services for our city, yet here we are moving backwards without 24-hour services, seven days a week for our residents and neighbouring communities.”
The Airdrie City Council has been advocating for expanded health services in Airdrie for over a decade through meetings with health ministers, deputy ministers, and local MLAs. Brown and health minister Jason Copping recently toured the over-crowded UCC earlier this year, where the minister made a verbal commitment to support renovations of the care facility.
However, as of press time, there has been no official commitment made by the province.
“I want to thank those health care professionals that do such great work in our community,” said Brown in the press release. “This certainly isn’t a reflection of the quality of care they provide. This is about Alberta Health Services and our provincial leaders not making health care a priority for Airdrie and the other municipalities affected by this physician shortage.”
Those with concerns regarding access to health care services in Airdrie and the surrounding area can reach out to Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt and Alberta’s Minister of Health Jason Copping.
