Hinton is down to eight family physicians, half of what's needed for the town of 10,000. And of those remaining, some are working part-time or making retirement plans. In Hinton, Alta., an industrial town in the shadows of the Rockies, residents left without a doctor to write prescriptions face a three-hour drive to Edmonton to try their luck at a walk-in clinic.
"It's absolutely ridiculous that municipal taxpayers are paying three times now — in our community — for health care that half of them don't even have access to," Nissen said in an interview. That money may have to come out of general operating funds, emergency management reserves or through taxation. Nissen said the town is going to ask the province to reimburse the amount."I'd have to look at it and look at it in the context of the broader picture and the supports that we're providing to not just Hinton but all communities across the province," said LaGrange.
The province has funnelled cash from federal health-care transfers toward stabilizing family practices.