What do you do when you are quite sick but your family doctor is not available to see you on the day you need to make an appointment? And what do you do when you’re not that sick but sick enough to require medical attention?
Walk-in clinics are usually the first line of defence in both situations, but in Lethbridge, it’s a common misconception that clinics only take walk-in patients starting in the evening, beginning at around 5 p.m.
READ MORE: B.C father calls for change in how walk-in clinics operate throughout province
Chinook Primary Care Network reports there are actually three clinics in the city offering daytime hours.
Campbell Clinic North, Lethbridge Medical Clinic, and Dr. Sheena Christy at the Nsisi Medical Clinic all take daytime walk-in patients.
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At the University of Lethbridge, faculty and students also have another daytime option.
“Students can access services either by walk-in or through appointment, and about five to 10 per cent of those would be considered same-day or walk-in appointments,” says Mark Slomp, executive director of Student Services at the University of Lethbridge.
One thing to keep in mind when looking for where to go, is not to go directly to a hospital.
Alberta Health Services says people need to know their options and that if it’s not an emergency, people shouldn’t be going to the emergency department. If people are unsure over what they should do, they can call Health Link and get advice from a registered nurse.
One clinic manager says it’s important to remember that walk-in availability always varies.
“We very rarely would have the capacity to take care of everyone on a single day,” says Tim Neufeld, the Campbell Clinic North manager. “I think everyday we do turn away numbers of patients just because of availability of appointments.
Most family doctors in Lethbridge also offer same-day appointments for their patients and Chinook Primary Care Network’s website shows no less than five family physicians accepting new patients as of Feb.1.
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