Second urgent and primary care centre to open in Nanaimo

The UPCC includes a separate side entrance for patients who require discreet access into the clinic. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm.

Residents in Nanaimo will have more access to primary care as a second urgent and primary care centre is set to open in the community.

The new facility, located in central Nanaimo at 3260 Norwell Dr, behind Country Club Center, will open on Thursday, May 1.

The Central Nanaimo Urgent and Primary Care Centre (UPCC) will provide same-day care for people who need to be supported for their primary care needs but do not require an emergency room.

CHLY got a tour of the faculty ahead of the opening.

Shelley Birchard, manager of the Central Nanaimo UPCC, who led the tour, explained that this clinic will take in patients on a call-in basis.

Unlike the walk-in Medical Arts UPCC located in downtown Nanaimo, this new facility will have patients call in to be assessed over the phone, then given an appointment with a healthcare worker that best fits their needs.

“What happens with a walk-in is that there could be a lineup of 50 people, but there's no way of telling the need or urgency within those 50 people who have arrived. If it's first-come, first-served, the 50th person might be the one who is in the most need,” Birchard said. “This is our opportunity through our phone system, but to be able to really understand what is presenting for that person to assess and then articulate and book in with the proper or the right provider.”

Birchard explained that this way of taking in patients is going to be a community area of growth of understanding that not everyone has to be seen by a doctor.

Along with being booked in to see a doctor or a registered nurse, patients who call in to the UPCC may be booked in with a social worker or a mental health and substance use consultant who will also be located at the facility. 

“So when we have an opportunity to really understand what that person's needs are, we're then better able to actualize those appointments happening in a more timely fashion to the right person that will meet the needs the best for that patient,” Birchard said.

When asked what a patient would need to do if they called in and all the appointments were full for the day, Birchard said they would have to call back the next day to try and book an appointment.

“And the reason for that is because we need to make sure that we're looking at everything on a day-to-day basis, and as far as being able to provide the right care on that day, so we would be routing you to then call the next day,” she said.

Birchard explained that the clinic was built to be a trauma-informed space.

The UPCC includes a separate side entrance for patients who require discreet access into the clinic. The side entrance will enter into the Thunderbird Wing, which has two private examination rooms.

The Thunderbird Wing was developed in close collaboration with the Snuneymuxw First Nation, along with additional contributions from the Snaw-Naw-As First Nation, Mid Island Métis Nation, and Tillicum Lelum Aboriginal Friendship Centre.

Connie Paul is a registered nurse with the Snuneymuxw First Nation Health Centre and consulted on the project.

She explained the Thunderbird Wing was a very important item that she wanted to see get added to the clinic. 

She said the wing was created for people who may not feel comfortable going through a main entrance when seeking care. 

She said she has seen Indigenous people in her community uncomfortable accessing care because it can feel like a “walk of shame” for them to have to walk through a health centre and say what had happened to them in front of everyone at the front desk.

“This is a place where, as a community health nurse of 36 years, it's the first time where I will be able to phone ahead and say, ‘I have a woman that that needs special care, she will need to have a sexual assault kit, or he will need to have a sexual assault kit, or this child will need to be physically examined,’” Paul said “So they will be able to come through that door of privacy and cultural safety, where someone who's going to meet them at the door is going to be trauma-informed.”

Paul shared that the wing is named after the supernatural Thunderbird that watches over people to ensure there is respect.

“The Thunderbird is a supernatural being amongst our people,” Paul said. “The Thunderbird it's a being that can look over an entire nation, and it looks to see that we're ethical, that we are respectful, that we are honest, and that we treat everyone the same.”

Along with the Thunderbird Wing, the clinic also has the Cedar Room, a space where people can gather to support those seeking care.

Paul explained the room as a space where doctors, social workers, or family members can gather to support a patient who is receiving healthcare. 

This could be a space used for people as a group to meet to discuss care for one person following a diagnosis.

“From my point of view, [something like] a diagnosis of cancer, that is not something that's usually in our community, one person's illness, it belongs to everyone,” Paul said. “So maybe the doctor would probably call a family meeting, they'd book this space, the family would come in here, they would sit, and the doctor would talk about the diagnosis and treatment.”

According to Birchard, the Cedar Room is equipped with an HVAC system and soundproofing, allowing for smudging, drumming, or other protocols a group may have.

The centre will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, and once opened, patients will be able to access appointments booked in advance by calling 1-833-688-8722.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.