By Cheryl Jahn

Walk-In clinic in Prince George in jeopardy

Oct 15, 2024 | 2:24 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Update: Northern Health has finally responded to our request for an interview in response to the story we ran on Tuesday, October 15.

Here it is:

“During the provincial election and interregnum period, government is in a caretaker mode and all Government of B.C. communications are limited to critical health and public safety information.

“The Prince George Urgent and Primary Care Centre will remain open. Northern Health is aware that on Oct. 9, 2024, the members of the Nechako Medical Clinic voted to cease providing physician staffing to the Prince George Urgent and Primary Care Centre. Northern Health is currently reviewing alternate compensation models to ensure continuity of services and will provide more information at a future date. “

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CKPG also reached out to Premier David Eby on Tuesday regarding this story, and instead received a statement from former health minister Adrian Dix. You can read that statement in its entirety below.

Earlier: The future of the Urgent and Primary Care facility in the Parkwood Mall is in jeopardy. CKPG has been in contact with a number of sources, including the medical community, who say the clinic is in peril. Not a surprise to BC Conservative Leader John Rustad.

He says he has heard at great length about the administrative burdens that mire physicians, especially in rural regions of the province.

“It’s on the verge of collapse,” says Rustad, referencing the health care system. “It’s in a crisis. And it doesn’t surprise me that a centre like this in Prince George would be facing these problems. We have so many differences between the Lower Mainland and other places in the province. And this one-size-fits-all all model that government is pushing just doesn’t work.”

The system Rustad is referring to is what’s called the “Longitudinal Family Physician” program, something Independent Candidate Coralee Oakes says she has heard has been problematic from the start.

“It finds some pretty significant challenges, specifically with the new LFP payment model that doesn’t take into consideration the unique circumstances that people working in Northern Health have,” she says. “Family physicians working in the north are significantly different than the urban ridings, and that scope of practice just was not taken into consideration, at least from the physicians and family doctors that I talked to.”

Former Health Minister Adrian Dix, in a statement says: “If elected, we will absolutely be keeping the Prince George Urgent and Primary Care Centre open. It is one of the most successful UPCCs in all of BC, and plays a vital role in ensuring the people of Prince George and the region get faster access to the care they need.”

“We’re also taking action to strengthen healthcare for Prince George and Northern BC by expanding the University Hospital of Northern BC, building a new helipad, and providing a new helicopter ambulance to make emergency travel as fast and smooth as possible.”