Richmond residents with urgent health concerns – those that need to be dealt with within 24 hours – now have a new place to get medical help.
The Richmond East Urgent and Primary Care Clinic (UPCC) will open on Tuesday, after the Easter long weekend, and will take patients on a drop-in basis.
The Richmond News got a tour on Thursday of the new 10,500 square-foot facility, located in a light industrial area near Cambie and Shell roads.
The clinic cost $9.4 million to create and it’s the 32nd such clinic in B.C. out of 50 planned across the province, Health Minister Adrian Dix explained.
The first Richmond UPCC opened on No. 3 Road in 2022 and has since seen 82,000 patients.
The clinic has equipment to do various medical exams and procedures including wound care, treating lacerations, ultrasounds, emergency eye exams, ECGs and IV treatment.
Furthermore, the UPCC will be linked to other health-care providers such as ear, nose and throat specialists, orthopedics, ophthalmology, gynecology and internal medicine.
A crash cart is also on site in the event of a heart attack.
An X-ray room includes equipment to examine for broken bones but also to do chest X-rays, which is most needed during the winter flu season, explained clinic staff.
This medical imaging room will not be online until late July, however, when it will be programmed to align with the Richmond Hospital medical imaging centre.
37 staff members to run new UPCC
When fully operational, the UPCC will be staffed by about 37 health-care workers, which includes 10 doctors, six nurse-practitioners, 15 registered nurses and six other health-care workers such as social workers, dietitians, pharmacists and support staff.
During the tour, clinic staff noted there will be a “team approach” to assessing and treating patients.
“It’s not just about one physician or one nurse-practitioner, it’s a whole team come (together) to assess,” explained clinic staff.
Patients who arrive will be triaged and treated in order of acuity. If a patient has lower acuity, the clinic uses an app so patients don't have to wait on-site.
“We have scenarios where people might go home for a few hours, go home and rest, and then we call and contact them, they can go straight into the clinical room and be seen by the provider,” clinic staff explained during the tour.
A sign in front of the building identifies the UPCC, and staff told the News signage is going up around the area to direct people to the clinic.
As the press conference announcing the imminent opening was taking place on Thursday, staff were rolling in more equipment, including a mobile translator that can help patients explain their symptoms in their first language.
Thanks to changes to ambulance protocols, patients, assessed by a paramedic, might be diverted to the UPCC instead of the hospital emergency room.
Clinic staff noted during the tour they will see "everyone" who comes through the door. If a medical issue is more serious, they will direct the patient to the hospital. At other times, they might just help patients navigate the system to find the right resources.
In the coming months, a new family practice clinic, Shellbridge Family Practice, will provide longitudinal primary care services within the UPCC. In partnership with the Richmond Division of Family Practice as part of the Richmond Primary Care Network, the clinic will help attach patients to primary care providers.
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) collaborated with Coast Salish artist Kelly Cannell from the Musqueam Nation, who will paint a mural called Legends of the Land and Sea in the waiting area.
The Richmond East Urgent and Primary Care Clinic is located at 10551 Shellbridge Way and will be open Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The clinic will also be open on statutory holidays.
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