MLA responds to clinic closure, saying it was not the result of lack of work by the province

Nov 22, 2023 | 11:21 AM

The MLA for Vernon-Monashee has pushed back against some comments that the province did nothing to keep Vernon’s last walk-in clinic open and operational.

The Sterling Centre Clinic shut its doors Wednesday, Nov. 15, due to a lack of support staff.

In a written statement to Vernon Matters, Harwinder Sandhu said she was “the last person that wanted to see the [clinic close] in Vernon,” adding the province had tried to work with the Sterling Centre to keep it open.

“I want my constituents to know that I, and the Ministry of Health, will continue to work with the local division of family practice and Interior Health as well as with family physicians, nurse practitioners and other local providers to ensure patients in Vernon are able to receive the care they need. I am committed to delivering outcomes,” Sandhu said in her statement.

“There seems to be a misconception that the Sterling Centre closure was due to a lack of effort by the Ministry of Health, but I can say with certainty that this is not true. The Ministry of Health, Interior Health, our local healthcare partners and I tried to work with this clinic for over a year on this issue. We provided the clinic stabilization payments on two different occasions: $38,000 in February 2023; and, another $38,000 in August 2023.”

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The Sterling Centre walk-in clinic closed Nov. 15, 2023. (Liam Verster / Vernon Matters photo)

Sandhu went on to say that the clinic was offered the same stabilization funding options that other walk-in clinics across the province accepted. She said the clinic was also presented with a longitudinal payment model with a grace period until March 31, 2024, but the clinic did not accept the offer.

“They were presented a UPCC (Urgent Primary Care Centre) equivalent service contract, plus $75,000 in overhead per FTE, this offer was rejected,” Sandhu explained.

“The Sterling Centre was a private clinic, but we sought to provide public supports to keep the clinic open. They rejected all offers. In the end, it was clinic leadership’s decision to close.”

Sandhu added those offers remain on the table should the walk-in wish to resume operations.

She also noted that the B.C. NDP opened the Urgent Primary Care Centre in Vernon in 2019, which she said had since seen more than 67,000 patient visits and attached more than 2,000 people to a primary care provider.

Sandhu’s statement came following Councillor Teresa Durning’s call for the province to enhance health care services in Vernon. The MLA said she had spoken with the city councillor to provide her with information and updates on the issue, but was still “disheartened” to see Durning’s comments.

“I would like to correct the councillor to say that the UPCC remains an option for episodic care. It does require an appointment, but unattached patients can call to book same-day appointments,” Sandhu stated.

“Further, for many prescription renewals, minor ailments, or contraceptives, people can visit their local pharmacist. People can walk-in, call-in, or book online as local pharmacists can now help treat 21 minor ailments, such as allergies, shingles, cold sores, pink eye, and more, thanks to an expansion to pharmacists’ scope of practice that allows pharmacists to use their expertise to help patients.”

The MLA added the province was continuing its work to bolster the local health care services by “actively working with local physicians and health professionals to support people in Vernon. We are also recruiting for nurse practitioners, family physicians, and allied health positions.”

In a statement issued by the Sterling Centre clinic doctors earlier this week, they said they are sad to see Interior Health and the Shuswap North Okanagan Division of Family Practice “walk away from this responsibility of serving the needs of the unattached patients” in the Vernon area.

“IH providing more managers and directing patients to 811 will not meet the needs of unattached patients’ urgent and complex chronic illnesses,” the doctors said.

The doctors dispell suggestions that because they were a private clinic, IH and the SNO Division could not help.

“Sterling Centre Clinic is no more a private clinic than any of our family medical practices, and the IH and the divisions are more than happy to assist in securing team-based supports to our own private practices.”

The doctors say there were no final attempts by health officials to keep the walk-in clinic open.

“There were no negotiations with us. How could there have been, as we had no contact from them over the past two months. Perhaps they had other interests. Simply, IH has been facing a problem for a while now, and our small group of physicians (including those at the NOMC) have been fixing their problem for them by stepping forward and working at both these clinics,” the statement posted on social media said.

“Now IH has the same problem, and they will have to deal with it themselves. Most of our physicians will go back to working their already full family practices. Our physician group is sorry to see these patients face this further struggle as they navigate the healthcare system. We hope we do not have to wait too long for IH and the SNO Divisions to come up with their fine solution,” the clinic doctors added.

by Liam Verster

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