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Non-emergent health centre opens on North Shore

Jeff Andreas
Nov 26, 2024 | 3:53 PM


Non-emergent health centre opens on North Shore

The North Shore Urgent and Primary Care Centre is open.

The new health care facility on the north shore that will provide team-based care for non-emergency health concerns to individuals within the North Shore and surrounding communities who require same-day attention.

Kathy Doull is the Executive Director of clinical operations for Interior Health in Kamloops. “Very exciting that people have additional access to primary care services in Kamloops, and we’re located in the newly renovated location in North Hills Center and open today.”

“I think this will have a great impact the urgent and primary care centers, or UPCC. We are able to provide primary care for people who have non life threatening conditions and need to see a health care provider within 12 to 24 hours, but they don’t require emergency services. So we don’t want people using our emergency services when they don’t need to.”

“So people might come to the UPCC for all kinds of things, minor cuts or burns, headaches, minor infections, sprains, things like that. It’s a team based care environment. So the nurse will assess them and will determine which care provider they require, and then support them to receive the care they need. They also might connect them with care that’s already available in the community, such as pharmacy, mental health or addiction services and things like that. So it really will be helpful for our community members to be able to come in and access that team based care environment to support their needs.”

There has been an ongoing shortage of family doctors that people in and around Kamloops. It can often be difficult, if not impossible, to get non-emergent appointments at places like the urgent Primary Care and Learning Center UPCC located inside the Royal Inland Hospital building.

“So at the North Shore UPCC, we have both walk in and appointments. So people can walk in to receive care, and the nurse will triage them and assess what their need is. Or they can phone and make an appointment. We’ll be using the same number as the other site, and they can choose where they want an appointment. Or they can walk into this site.”

“I think it is also important to note that the services, just like an emergency room, the services are not necessarily first come, first serve. There is a triage process, and then it is determined when their appointment will be based on the urgency of their need.”

What will this do with being able to recruit and retain medical professionals in Kamloops? “This is going to be give us a strong ability to recruit. We are still recruiting. So I do think it’s important to note that our family physicians and our nurse practitioner appointments may be limited to start with, as we are still recruiting to fill those positions, but we are using virtual physicians to support those individuals who require a physician appointment, but we do have a full team based care.”

If you have a health emergency that requires immediate care, call 911 or present at the nearest emergency department.

Care is available for concerns such as:

  • Minor injuries
  • Sprains and strains
  • Infections
  • Less serious child illness and injury
  • High fever
  • Cuts, wounds, or skin conditions

If you do not have a family doctor/nurse practitioner, or you are unable to get an appointment with your care provider that day, you can visit the UPCC. A health-care team is available, virtually or in-person to provide care for your health issues. You may see one or more of the following health professionals depending on your care needs:

  • Family physician (FP)
  • Nurse practitioner (Np)
  • Registered nurse (RN)
  • Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
  • Social Work
  • Mental health and substance use clinicians.
  • Physiotherapist

 If you need to access health-care services at the UPCC, please note that:

  • Walk-in availability is limited and prioritized by urgency. There is no guarantee you will be seen by a physician/nurse practitioner. If you are not able to be seen that day, an appointment will be booked for you at a future date, or you will be directed to alternate services as appropriate.
  • You will be assessed by a registered nurse upon arriving at the UPCC
  • Booked appointments are preferred. To book, call 250-314-2256
  • There is capacity for same day drop-in appointments, based on urgency, but there is a limited number available each day.