Two Lethbridge family doctors shuttering practices at Campbell Clinic South

LETHBRIDGE — Thousands more Lethbridge residents will soon be without a family doctor.

Two physicians at Campbell Clinic South recently told their patients they are shutting down their practices.

One of the doctors leaving says she's been considering the move for several years.

"A very challenging relationship with government at the moment. Going back to our last negotiations with them, there's been this sensation of lots of bad-faith arguments," said Dr. Jessica van der Sloot, whose practice will shut down at the end of the year.

Van der Sloot is moving to B.C., which will leave about 2,000 people without a doctor.

She says her biggest reason for leaving is the current funding model for family physicians.

According to van der Sloot, Alberta physicians are now some of the least paid in Canada.

"This feeling that we are kind of just being put to the side or ignored, that our concerns are not really being heard in a meaningful way. Or maybe they are being heard. They're just not being acted upon, which is worse, it feels like," she said.

The Alberta Medical Association (AMA) says a new funding model for physicians has already been drawn up.

While the AMA is ready to sign, it claims the province is dragging its feet.

The province says its deal with physicians is nearly done.

It's estimated that 600,000 to 800,000 Albertans currently do not have a family doctor.

"The minister made a promise that by September, there would be a new compensation model in place. That deal is ready to go. The government refuses to sign and fund it. And doctors are saying, OK, then we're out. We're not waiting any longer," said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare.

Physician retention is a particularly big issue in rural communities.

Several rural medical centres have also been hit by temporary closures due to a lack of staffing.

"It's important to understand that it isn't emergency physicians who are covering those emergency departments, those hospitals. Those hospitals are run by the local doctors. They run the hospitals, they deliver babies, they have a practice as well," said AMA president Shelley Duggan.

Currently, there are no physicians in Lethbridge accepting new patients.