A local MLA is raising concerns about a new urgent and primary care centre in Kelowna, B.C.’s, Rutland neighbourhood.
Penticton MLA Dan Ashton took to social media over the weekend saying he has received a number of serious complaints and concerns regarding the new centre.
“When you get through the line ups, when you get in to finally see someone, a nurse or a nurse practitioner, not having the availability of a doctor or having to go to emergency then after that,” said Ashton.
“An individual was actually told to call telehealth because you would get things quicker but that is not what they are designed for.”
Ashton went on to say that it is not uncommon for an MLA to receive complaints from outside of their designated area, adding that he feels the issue is not unique to the Rutland centre.
“I know that the centers are not working the way that the government had hoped, and I just hope that Interior Health and the government will work together to make sure these centers work better as they are designed,” said Ashton.
“There seems to be a common complaint that many times an individual going to centre goes through the process of being triaged and then all of a sudden is told we don’t have a doctor and then have to go to emergency which is not right.”
The urgent and primary care centre opened around three months ago in Rutland, and according to Interior Health, is already seeing around 200 visits per week.
In comparison, the only other urgent and primary care centre in Kelowna, on Harvey Avene, sees around 1,000 visits per week, while the centre in West Kelowna sees around 700 visits a week.
“Definitely wait times are a high priority for us at our primary care sites,” said Central Okanagan Primary Care Director Luke Brimmage.
“There isn’t any getting around that. There is a high demand for our urgent primary care centres and our health care system as a whole.”
According to Interior Health, the Rutland location is not fully staffed as of, yet which can impact wait times.
“At the Rutland UPCC, wait times will be a little bit longer because we don’t have all the physician and nurse practitioners filled,” said Brimmage.
“We have the one physician, nurse practitioner on site six days a week and the one day we have two.”
Interior Health is trialing a new strategy at several urgent and primary care centres across the region, including at Rutland location, to hopefully allow for more patients to be seen each day.
The new strategy is a team-based approach to appointments, hosted virtually.
“When a person is assessed by the nurse, and they agree that they need to see the nurse practitioner or physician, the person would go into that appointment with the nurse, at least have the option to, and that appointment is handled through similarly how we’re doing our interview, on an online platform like Zoom with the physician and the nurse practitioner,” said Brimmage.
“This allows a real fulsome assessment of that person’s needs … the appointment ends up being like a more traditional type of appointment, using technology.”
Meanwhile, Ashton is hoping that Interior Health and the provincial government can work together to further improve local urgent care centres.
“I do find it frustrating that people have to phone an MLA to express their concerns about what is happening at these urgent and primary care centres,” said Ashton.
“I hope that the health authorities, talking about Interior Health, pay more attention that if they are going to continue running these centres that the help is in place to ensure that the individual is looked after.”
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