The Prince George community will now have more access to medical care after a new medical centre has been announced by the government (April 17).
British Columbia Premier John Horgan alongside Health Minister Adrian Dix and various health officials announced a new Prince George Urgent and Primary Care Centre (UPCC) as well as the launch of a primary-care network (PCN).
The scheduled opening date is June of 2019.
Horgan and Dix say the PCN and UPCC will be working together to recruit more than 30 new health-care providers over the next three years.
Positions include 25 nursing and allied health-care professionals, one general practitioner, one clinical pharmacist, an Elder to ensure cultural safety as well two more other new resources which the government says will extend lab services in the community. There will also be a mental-health and substance-use clinician.
The clinic will be a drop-in resource including team-based care also offered in the evenings and weekends for people that do not have a life-threatening condition but need to see a doctor in 12 to 24 hours.
As of now, hours for the services listed to start in June are:
- Monday and Tuesday - 4 to 9 p.m.
- Wednesday to Friday - from 1 to 9 p.m.
- Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The centre will be located in the Parkwood Place Mall at 1600 15 Ave.
It is expected that when the new care centre is at full capacity, it will add 8,000 additional patient visits a year.
"The urgent and primary-care centre and the primary care network in Prince George will ensure the health needs of people living in the community and the surrounding areas are met in a faster, more comprehensive and efficient way," Adrian Dix says. "New services will include extended hours of care, teams of interdisciplinary health-care professionals and attachment opportunities, which will offer a solution for the approximately 2,000 people in Prince George who do not have a consistent primary-care provider."
The new network will service Prince George and the surrounding area, including the Lheidli T'enneh community.
A new outreach primary-care program will also be implemented, the government says.
It will be based out of Prince George's two community health centres, Central Interior Native Health and the Blue Pine Clinic, health-care providers will reach out to bring the community to bring primary-care and the patients where ever they are.
There will also be a collaboration between the First Nations Health Authority, Northern Health and the Division of Family Practice are also working together to establish a mobile support team which will deliver mental-wellness services to First Nations community in the Prince George community.
"We are transforming our provincial primary-care system, so it is more focused on a team-based approach that will best respond to the needs of communities throughout the province, including Prince George," Dix adds. "The network is part of our primary-care strategy to strengthen services and improve access to everyday health care and will be how patients are treated today, tomorrow and in the future.
