Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District (CCRHD) is adding their voice to support for urgent and primary care clinics for the Cariboo.
The CCRHD is prepared to finance its share of the costs for such a clinic, which would be 40 per cent of the capital costs, explained Al Richmond, chair of the CCRHD.
Richmond said both 100 Mile House and Williams Lake could benefit from the increased health care facilities.
An urgent and primary care clinic can provide primary care by a physician, a nurse practitioner, a registered nurse or other health professional for patients with non-emergency health needs who need same-day medical attention.
These types of clinics can help reduce the overwhelming demand on emergency rooms in communities without walk-in clinics and a lack of family physicians. The facilities are also more attractive to physicians who want to be able to provide patient care without also having to run a business by operating a clinic.
Family physicians traditionally would also help run a clinic, while urgent and primary care clinics are administered by the health authority.
The CCRHD is requesting a meeting with the Minister of Health Adrian Dix at September’s Union of BC Municipalities conference.
Al Richmond, chair of the CCRHD, said they just want to make Interior Health and the Ministry of Health aware the district is prepared to contribute towards the project.
The Ministry of Health told Black Press Media Interior Health is actively working towards the establishment of an Urgent and Primary Care Centre (UPCC) in Williams Lake.
They noted while there are many initiatives underway in the region to support primary health, at the core of these initiatives are the staff needed to deliver health care services.
Richmond said the region has seen the success of urgent and primary care clinics first-hand after Northern Health opened one in Quesnel.
He said he recalls at least one physician who had left Quesnel returning once the urgent and primary care clinic opened, noting the facility allowed physicians to focus on providing patient care.
He said the new Cariboo Memorial Hospital (CMH) will also help with attracting new physicians, it just will take a while to be completed, but is already underway.
“That’s a win as well,” said Richmond of the coming CMH upgrades.
Previously, physicians in the 100 Mile area were not supportive of a change in models, but Richmond said it is time to revisit the conversation and see if area physicians are more receptive.
The city of Williams Lake issued a request for a short-term urgent primary care centre back in April, noting Ashcroft has one. City representatives met with Interior Health to discuss the idea.
Ministry of Health also noted the province has funded over 2,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) health care positions since 2018/19. As of January 2023, over 1,400 FTEs have been recruited to support primary care networks, clinics, and regional hubs across the province.
The province has replaced the fee-for-service model, and partnered with Doctors of BC to develop the new Longitudinal Family Practice Model (LFP), which recognizes time worked and simplifies administrative tasks.
The LFP model has since enrolled more than 3,000 physicians, including 300 new to the system.
As well, a New to Practice (NTP) Incentives Program has recruited 135 net new doctors, offering generous incentives and debt relief.
In September, the Ministry of Health announced the Provincial Health Human Resources Strategy, which included an expansion to medical education in B.C. As part of the strategy, UBC will be increasing its undergraduate medical school intake by 40 and its residency program by up to 88, adding 128 new annual seats and positions to train more doctors in the province.
UBC’s residency program will also add up to 88 new annual training positions by 2028/29, including an immediate expansion of its family doctor residency program intake by 12 in 2023 and another 18 in 2024. To address the critical need for family physicians, additional family medicine residency seats will begin in the 2022-23 fiscal year and will expand the UBC family medicine residency program from 174 to up to 214 by 2024-25.
This is the first major increase in UBC’s medical school intake in over a decade, according to the province.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article appeared in the June 15, 2023 edition of the Williams Lake Tribune in print, this version has been updated to include comment from the Ministry of Health, which came after the paper had gone to press.
READ MORE: City council requests a short-term urgent primary care centre for Williams Lake
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