B.C.’s minister of health was in Surrey Wednesday for a soggy press conference to announce the opening of a new urgent and primary care centre.
Despite the chill and rain, several politicians and dignitaries showed up just before the new Cloverdale urgent and primary care centre (UPCC) opened Wednesday (Jan. 28), including Minister of Health Josie Osborne and parliamentary secretary for primary care Stephanie Higginson.
The new centre, located at 5711 176A St., offers year-round, seven-day access to urgent and primary care for people in Cloverdale and surrounding communities in a 9,161-square-foot facility owned and operated by Fraser Health.
The centre will use a team-based care model for urgent health concerns such as sprains, minor infections and cuts requiring stitches.
“Residents of Cloverdale and the surrounding communities will now have improved access to team-based primary care with the opening of the new Cloverdale Urgent and Primary Care Centre right behind us here,” Osborne said at the press conference.
“What’s also really exciting is, not only will it be open Monday to Friday, it will be open until 8 p.m. at night. It will be open on the weekends. It will be open on statutory holidays as well,” Osborne said, earning applause from those gathered.
The centre means people and their families who need support within 12 to 24 hours for health concerns that do not require emergency department services are going to get the timely care that they need here in their own community, as close to home as possible, Osborne said.
The centre will also help reduce non-urgent visits to hospital emergency rooms, she noted, adding it will accommodate about 64,000 patient visits every single year.
Higginson also spoke, noting that, as a mom of two, she was happy to see the centre’s hours of operation.
“I just thought about what that means to the families … you know, those earaches that come in the wrong time … we know how important it is for people to have a single point of contact within the primary care system to follow their medical needs and ensure that ongoing concerns are monitored and addressed, and to make sure that anyone who wants a family doctor or a nurse practitioner can access them,” Higginson said.
The Cloverdale UPCC is the third UPCC in Surrey and the 12th UPCC in the Fraser Health region.