Press release:
A new urgent and primary care centre (UPCC) will open March 31, 2021, at unit 101 - 437 Martin St.
"The new UPCC in Penticton will offer people better access to the health care they need, when they need it," said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. "With the support of local health-care teams, our primary care strategy is leveraging community collaboration to strengthen primary care services throughout the province. In Penticton, this means more people, including those living in poverty, those with mental health and substance use concerns, and families and seniors with complex care needs can access same-day, everyday health care and get attached to a primary care provider if they do not have one."
On March 31, 2021, approximately 14 full-time equivalent clinical health-care professionals will join the centre, including physicians, a nurse practitioner, nurses and allied health professionals. The team will first provide long-term primary care services for people with mental health and substance use needs. These services include complex care management, mental health and substance use health care, opioid agonist treatment and women's health.
More health-care professionals will gradually join the centre. Once fully staffed, the UPCC will provide urgent and primary care services to people living in Penticton and surrounding communities who need health care provided within 12 to 24 hours, but do not require a trip to the emergency department, such as patients with sprains, cuts, high fevers and minor infections.
Importantly, the UPCC will also assist in connecting patients without a primary care provider to a family doctor or nurse practitioner either at the centre or in the community. Attachment will be provided in collaboration with the South Okanagan Similkameen Division of Family Practice.
Longitudinal care will be offered from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday upon opening on March 31. When the centre is fully implemented, care will be available seven days a week, 365 days a year.
The Penticton UPCC is a collaboration between Interior Health, the Ministry of Health, the South Okanagan Similkameen Division of Family Practice, the Martin Street Outreach Centre Association, OneSky Community Resources and local Indigenous partners, including the Penticton Indian Band and Ooknakane Friendship Centre. This UPCC is part of the South Okanagan Similkameen Primary Care Network.
This is the 23rd UPCC announced under the government's primary care strategy, 20 of which are open. Of those, six are in the Interior Health region, including in Kelowna, Vernon, West Kelowna, Kamloops, Castlegar and Penticton.