People living in the Tri-Cities will soon have better access to same-day health-care services when and where they need it with a new urgent and primary care centre (UPCC).
The temporary location will open February 2021. A request for proposals for a permanent location is underway.
“The new UPPC will allow people in the Tri-Cities, including Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, to access the everyday health-care services they need closer to home, while also taking the demand off the emergency department,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “We are working in partnership with local communities and health-care providers to deliver on our primary care strategy throughout the province.”
The UPCC will be operated by Fraser Health, with the support of the Fraser Northwest Division of Family Practice, Indigenous Partners and the Tri-Cities on the ancestral, traditional and unceded territories of the Kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), Qiqéyt (Key-Kayt) and Coast Salish Nations.
A team of health-care workers will join the centre, including family physicians, nurse practitioners and registered nurses, as well as allied health providers (pharmacist, social worker and clinical counsellor) and support staff.
“I am very happy for the communities in the Tri-Cities that will benefit from this new urgent and primary care centre to help meet their daily health-care needs closer to home,” said Rick Glumac, MLA for Port Moody-Coquitlam. “Urgent and primary care centres are an excellent solution for people who may not have a regular family doctor, and they can also help patients secure a primary care provider.”
The centre will focus on providing ongoing, long-term primary care, as well as urgent care to people with non-life-threatening conditions.
This is the 21st urgent and primary care centre announced under the government’s primary care strategy. The UPCC in the Tri-Cities will be the sixth centre in the Fraser Health region, including two in Surrey, and one each in Burnaby, Maple Ridge and Abbotsford.
Quick Facts:
- Primary care is the day-to-day health care given by a health-care provider.
- Urgent primary care is the care that people need within 12 to 24 hours for conditions such as sprains, urinary problems, ear infections, minor cuts or burns, headaches, sprains, and experiencing mental health and substance-use challenges.
- Urgent and primary care centres are part of a comprehensive strategy to transform B.C.’s health system by bringing together and co-ordinating with health-care providers, services and programs to make it easier for people to access care, receive followup and connect to other services they may need.
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
A backgrounder follows.