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New urgent and primary care clinic on schedule for Williams Lake

A new clinic to treat non-emergency patients is currently on schedule for the lakecity
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Diane Shendruk, top left, Karen Cooper, bottom left, and Dr. Roland Engelbrecht, provided an update for Williams Lake mayor and council on Feb. 27, 2024. (Ruth Lloyd photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

An urgent and primary care clinic (UPCC) for Williams Lake is currently on schedule, according to a presentation by Interior Health at the regular council meeting on Feb. 27.

UPCCs provide an alternative to visiting an emergency department for non-emergency issues and provide access to primary care for those without family physicians. They operate much like a walk-in clinic from the patient perspective.

Diane Shendruk, VP of clinical operations for Interior Health north, Karen Cooper, executive director, clinical operations, Interior Health west, and Dr. Roland Engelbrecht, chief of staff for Cariboo Memorial Hospital, all presented as a delegation at the meeting remotely via Zoom. They gave a presentation and took questions from council at the meeting.

Engelbrecht said the lease was signed for a building location for the UPCC and the plan is to open the clinic by early 2025.

A request for proposals has been issued for the design of the clinic. Once a proposal is selected, they expect the design phase to take two months.

A primary care network hub where additional health clinicians like dietitians is also planned and will be located in the old Yorston Medical Clinic, with a projected opening for this centre of April 2024.

When able to ask questions, Coun. Jazmyn Lyons asked if the issues with regards to staffing experienced by the previous walk-in clinic in Williams Lake and resulted in limited hours for the clinic might be expected.

Shendruk said the more flexible structure of the UPCC, which allow for shorter shifts and no requirement for physicians to operate their own businesses, mean they expect recruitment of staff to be easier.

READ MORE: Interior Health making plans for an urgent primary care clinic in Williams Lake

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Ruth Lloyd

About the Author: Ruth Lloyd

I moved back to my hometown of Williams Lake after living away and joined the amazing team at the Williams Lake Tribune in 2021.
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