The new North Shore Urgent and Primary Care Centre (UPCC) in Kamloops is now open, providing surrounding communities with more access to team-based care.

“We are taking action throughout B.C. to strengthen primary care, so people have health-care services they can count on closer to home,” said Minister of Health Josie Osborne. “This includes opening 39 urgent and primary care centres to connect people to doctors and nurse practitioners, while also helping relieve pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms. By adding a second UPCC in Kamloops, people living in the entire region will have easier and more convenient access to high-quality, non-emergency health care.”

The UPCC will provide urgent primary care seven days a week and offer primary-care services for people who need support for their health concerns within 12 to 24 hours, but do not require an emergency department. Conditions such as sprains, cuts, high fevers and minor infections are appropriate for the UPCC.

The UPCC will be staffed by family physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, physiotherapists and administrative staff. When fully staffed, people will be cared for by approximately 30 full-time equivalent health-care practitioners.

“We are excited to welcome patients to the second urgent and primary-care clinic in Kamloops at Northills Centre, where it will be co-located with our laboratory and medical-imaging departments,” said Susan Brown, president and CEO, Interior Health. “This convenient, comprehensive access to care will help reduce the need to travel for different services for people living on the North Shore.”

The UPCC is available to people who do not have a primary-care provider, as well as those who are unable to schedule an appointment with their primary-care provider within a convenient timeframe. The UPCC will support people who are seeking a family physician or nurse practitioner to register with the Health Connect Registry through the Provincial Attachment System.