Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

NORTH SHORE UPCC

North Shore UPCC sees 400+ visits since November opening; full staffing not yet in place

Dec 18, 2024 | 4:35 PM

KAMLOOPS — A new Urgent Primary Care Centre recently opened in the Northills Shopping Centre, and while it’s not yet fully staffed, Interior Health says there’s been a steady flow of patients trying out the clinic.

The North Shore UPCC opened with the expectation it would alleviate some of the ongoing pressure at the hospital’s emergency department and the other UPCC downtown.

The clinic has only been open for a short time, so definitive numbers around the patient demands at each of the primary care facilities in town aren’t available yet. But speaking to CFJC Today, Interior Health’s executive director for clinical operations in Kamloops, Kathy Doull, says the new facility has been a welcome addition to the area.

“Since we opened on November 26, and the first two weeks were a staggered opening, we’ve seen more than 400 patient visits,” says Doull. “And now that we’ve moved to full-time hours, we’re averaging more than 30 patient visits per day.”

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Recruiting and hiring staff is still underway and Doull confirms the clinic is not fully staffed yet. However, IH says there are doctors and nurse practitioners who have been taking shifts at the clinic in the meantime. Doull says there have been days when a doctor or nurse practitioner isn’t available to be on site in-person, but the rest of the team is able to triage and treat a patients depending on their condition.

Doull says staff at the centre have also been able to video-call doctors to work with patients who came in for an appointment.

“We have a number of virtual physicians who have signed up for shifts and we will use the virtual technology at the site,” she explains. “It means somebody doesn’t need to be technologically savvy in order to use our virtual access. And the nurses are there to work with the physician and support the care for the patient.”

Once the clinic is fully staffed with more than 30 employees, there will be two doctors, two nurse practitioners, five nurses, a number of staffers in physio and social work, and medical office assistants. The North Shore UPCC shares a phone line with the downtown clinic for booking appointments, but it’s also the only primary care centre in Kamloops offering walk-in appointments at this time.

“The phone line is a centralized phone line where individuals can generally leave a message and then we’ll get back to them to book an appointment,” explains Doull. “For the North Shore, we are prioritizing the walk-ins, so I keep saying to everybody, ‘The best way is to come down to the site, and do the walk-in.'”

Walk-in patients are prioritized by urgency and the clinic opens daily at 7:30 a.m.

The Kamloops UPCC central phone line opens at 10:00 a.m. and, similar to the walk-in system, patients are triaged over the phone and appointments will be booked based on urgency. To make an appointment at either of the UPCCs, people can call 250-314-2256.