Approximately 90 orthopedic surgeries that were scheduled to take place at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton have been postponed, Alberta Health Services said Wednesday.

AHS described the procedures affected as “elective” and said they include arthroplasty hip, knee, and shoulder cases, and spine cases.

AHS said the postponements were made because of “a decision by the University of Alberta School of Medicine to consolidate the on-call component of its orthopedic residency training program at the University of Alberta Hospital.”

AHS said it does not inform nor direct the decisions.

However, in an email to Global News, a spokesperson for the university said “clinical service delivery, including any decisions to postpone elective surgeries, is the responsibility of Alberta Health Services. The university is not able to comment on changes to the delivery of healthcare services or staffing.”

The university is responsible, however, for “providing high-quality, accredited clinical training programs for residents.”

The U of A spokesperson said it is normal for residents to rotate through hospitals and clinical areas as part of their training and that can result in “a variable number of residents in different locations at different times.”

AHS said it “is working hard to find alternative coverage. Urgent and emergency surgeries will continue at the site.

“We acknowledge that this is extremely frustrating to those impacted patients, and we apologize for any disruption these postponements will cause. We are working hard to get those impacted patients rescheduled as quickly as possible.”

In the Edmonton Zone, arthroplasty hip and knee surgeries are continuing at the Misericordia Community Hospital, AHS said. Arthroplasty shoulder surgeries are continuing at the Sturgeon Community Hospital and the University of Alberta Hospital.

AHS said it is exploring additional orthopedic surgery capacity elsewhere.