People living in the Williams Lake area will benefit from more access to team-based health care with a new urgent and primary care centre (UPCC) coming in early 2025.

“We’re committed to ensuring that everyone in B.C. can access the health care they need no matter where and when they need it, and the new Williams Lake UPCC is a great step forward in this direction,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “With its extended hours of operation, this centre will make it easier for people in the community to connect with health services closer to home that they can count on, now and in the future.”

Located at 47 Cameron St., once open, the new Williams Lake UPCC will provide urgent and episodic primary care seven days a week, including statutory holidays, when fully operational.

“With a new UPCC, we are working to increase access to primary care services for the people in Williams Lake,” said Susan Brown, president and CEO, Interior Health. “With team-based care, patients will be able to see the most appropriate health-care provider for both their urgent and primary care needs.”

The UPCC will provide same-day care for people who need access to primary care within 12 to 24 hours, but do not require an emergency department. Conditions such as sprains, cuts, fevers and minor infections are appropriate for the UPCC. People can access the centre’s primary care via in-person, walk-in same-day appointments. The UPCC will be available to people who do not have a primary care provider, as well as people with a provider who are unable to schedule an appointment within 12 to 24 hours.

When fully staffed, approximately 18 full-time-equivalent health-care providers will provide care, including family physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, physiotherapists, Indigenous patient navigators and administrative staff.

“The Williams Lake UPCC will provide much-needed health-care services to the community,” said Al Richmond, chair, Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District. “I look forward to the UPCC opening early next year and residents in the area having increased access to health services.”

There are nine UPCCs operating in the Interior Health region in Vernon, Kamloops, Kelowna, Castlegar, West Kelowna, Cranbrook, Penticton, Ashcroft and Rutland. The capital cost of the UPCC is being shared by the provincial government through Interior Health and the Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District.

Learn More:

To learn more about UPCCs in the Interior Health region, visit: https://www.interiorhealth.ca/information-for/patients-and-visitors/urgent-and-primary-care-centres

To read about B.C.’s primary health strategy, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/accessing-health-care/bcs-primary-care-system and https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018PREM0034-001010

To learn more about the Province’s health human resource strategy, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022HLTH0059-001464