People living in Castlegar will soon have better access to team-based urgent and primary care with the opening of a new urgent and primary care centre (UPCC).

“Castlegar has about 2,000 people who do not have a regular primary care provider. This needs to change,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development and MLA for Kootenay West, on behalf of Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “That is why, through the Province’s primary care strategy, we are announcing a UPCC in Castlegar to provide residents better access to same-day appointments and regular care. This centre will implement a team-based approach to ensure patients get the comprehensive care they need, when they need it.”

Dix said, “We are listening to people in B.C. and that is why we developed a primary care strategy. Through this strategy, we are announcing a UPCC in Castlegar to provide residents access with the comprehensive, team-based care they need. With this new centre, we are helping thousands of people who do not have a family doctor get attached to one and for others to have more access to same-day appointments and regular care.”

The Castlegar UPCC will be operated by Interior Health and be located at the Castlegar and District Community Health Centre. Expected to open at the end March 2020, the centre will support both regular, ongoing health care for people who do not have a primary care provider and urgently needed primary care services for residents. It will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, 365 days a year.

The urgent and primary care centre team in Castlegar will include general practitioners, registered nurses, social workers, physiotherapists and medical office assistants. The team will provide comprehensive primary care services, including on evenings and weekends. To further support the primary care needs of patients, the hours for laboratory and X-ray services will be extended.

Quotes:

Dr. Doug Cochrane, board chair, Interior Health –

“The urgent and primary care centre planned for Castlegar will have a positive impact on all those living in the community and surrounding area who are looking for local, same-day access to health-care services. The team, which includes social workers and physiotherapists alongside the physicians and nurses who also support the Castlegar Health Centre’s emergency department, will mean people will have better support for their immediate and long-term health-care needs.” 

Dr. Kathleen Ross, president, Doctors of BC –

“We look forward to the opening of the new urgent and primary care centre to provide Castlegar residents with more timely access to health-care services, while supporting those important long-term relationships and continuity of care that result in better health outcomes for patients.” 

Dr. Dave Larocque, Kootenay Boundary Division of Family Practice member and Castlegar chief of medical staff –

“The Castlegar Medical Association is pleased to have partnered with Interior Health and the Ministry of Health to establish the Castlegar Urgent and Primary Care Centre. We believe the centre will enhance services to the community by providing access to a team of caregivers that will include social workers, physiotherapists and nurses alongside physicians from the community. With longer hours of service, and lab and X-ray services located just steps away, we are looking forward to being able to provide a wide range of therapies with a team-based approach that will ultimately provide improved access and broader care to the citizens of Castlegar.”

Quick Facts:

• This is the 16th urgent and primary care centre to be announced under the government’s primary care strategy and the fourth in Interior Health.
• The existing centres are in Kamloops, Kelowna and Vernon.

Learn More:

To learn more about the Province’s primary health-care strategy, visit:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018PREM0034-001010

To learn more about the Province’s strategy to increase the number of nurse practitioners, visit:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018HLTH0034-000995

To learn more about the Province’s strategy to recruit and retain more family medicine graduates, visit:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018HLTH0052-001043