BC Gov News

Jinny Sims, MLA for Surrey-Panorama –

“I know how hard it can be for so many people in Surrey to find a consistent primary care provider. I am proud to be part of a government that is continually working to bring meaningful change into the lives of people in the region, and this new nurse practitioner primary care clinic is an example of our hard work.”

Harry Bains, MLA for Surrey-Newton –

“I am excited that a new nurse practitioner primary care clinic is opening in Surrey, one of the fastest growing communities in B.C. This clinic helps take demand off Surrey Memorial Hospital’s emergency department and connect more people to a consistent primary care provider.”

Michael Sandler, executive director, Association of Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC –

“Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC (NNPBC) are pleased to have helped to lead the process of conceptualizing and opening these nurse practitioner (NP) primary care clinics with strong community support. It has been with the diligence and advocacy of the NP council of NNPBC and, in particular, our director of NP provincial initiatives Danielle Daigle and project manager Patricia Telford, whose detailed knowledge of the inner workings of NP practice within the larger health-care delivery context has been key to getting where we are today. We applaud this approach to team-based care that taps into the expertise of nurse practitioners as primary care providers as well as all health-care staff. This clinic is key to ensuring B.C. families can access timely health-care services when they need them, and we are thrilled about the opening of the first NP-primary care clinic in Surrey.”

Lexi Grisdale, clinical director, Axis Primary Care Clinic –

“On behalf of the Axis nurse practitioner team, we are thrilled to be a part of this incredible initiative. It has been an exciting journey to help facilitate the implementation of this clinic and we are extremely thankful to have this opportunity. We are also very appreciative of the collaboration and support offered to us from the Ministry of Health, Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC, Fraser Health and the Surrey-North Delta Division of Family Practice. As a part of our local Primary Care Network, we see Axis Primary Care as an avenue of enhanced access to primary care services for Surrey residents. We look forward to working in conjunction with our healthcare partners, our patients, and the broader Surrey community.”

Laurie Leith, vice-president, acute and community services, Fraser Health –

“We’re excited to join the Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC, Surrey-North Delta Division of Family Practice and clinic staff to celebrate the opening of the Axis Primary Care Clinic in Cloverdale. With 224 patients already attached to services at the clinic, we’re excited to see this clinic grow and more people gain access to much needed primary care services.”

Tomas Reyes, executive director, Surrey-North Delta Division of Family Practice –

“The Axis Primary Care Clinic is an initiative from the Ministry of Health brought to Surrey to complement the delivery of primary care services by our family physicians in Cloverdale. The Surrey-North Delta Division of Family Practice has been partnering with Fraser Health in the design and implementation of primary care networks (PCNs) in our community, and we have made the joint commitment to work with Axis’ team and support its model of care, integrating it to the Coverdale’s PCN. We believe that the team-based care model that Axis is planning to bring to the community will benefit the patients that become attached to the clinic, and more importantly, the team working at the clinic is committed to provide top quality health-care services to patients served by our strong network of family physicians across the neighbourhood in alignment with the objectives of the PCN.”

Nurse practitioners are health practitioners who can work on their own or with physicians and other health professionals to provide care across a person’s life span.

This includes diagnosing and treating illnesses, ordering and interpreting tests, prescribing medications and performing medical procedures. Learn more about the new Axis Primary Care Clinic:

• Patients are received via referral and through community partners, walk-in, outreach, online or phone.
• Patient intake began Aug. 10. Information on applying can be found here: www.npclinics.ca/axis/
• Axis Primary Care Clinic is located in Cloverdale, but will provide access to primary care services for residents of Surrey.
• Approximately 29% of visits to the Surrey Memorial Hospital emergency department in 2019-20 were triaged as low acuity. Many of these visits could be managed in a primary care setting.
• Of the total Surrey population (approximately 589,000), 88,000 or 15% are 65 years of age or older.
• 41% of Surrey residents are living with illness and chronic conditions. The top five identified conditions in Surrey are hypertension, asthma, diabetes, osteoarthritis and episodic mood and anxiety disorder.
• Approximately 89,000 patients in Surrey-North Delta are considered unattached (16%), nearly 15,000 of which reside in Cloverdale.
• The available services include:
  • new client intake and screening visits
  • regular/followup visits with clients concerning:
    • new symptom or diagnosis
    • chronic disease management, including diabetes, asthma and heart disease
    • pregnancy/prenatal/postpartum care
    • contraception advice and treatment options
    • mental health assessment/treatment/ support
    • substance use and addiction treatment/ support
    • medication prescription refills
    • screening, i.e. sexually transmitted infections, well child checks, cervical cancer/PAP smear
    • treatments/procedures i.e. intrauterine device insertion, cerumen (ear wax) removal
    • referrals to medical specialist and social services and completing forms
    • outreach to local community partners
    • harm-reduction strategies
• Axis Primary Care Clinic works with the Surrey-North Delta Division of Family Practice and Fraser Health to support the planning and development of a primary care network in the Cloverdale neighbourhood in Surrey.