Vernon Jubilee Hospital (file photo/Vernon Matters Staff)

By Pete McIntyre

statement issued

VJH doctors have ‘grave concerns’ about impact of walk-in clinic closure

Nov 8, 2023 | 10:50 AM

Doctors that work in the emergency department at Vernon Jubilee Hospital say they have grave concerns about the impact of the pending closure of Vernon’s last walk-in clinic.

The Sterling Centre has announced it will close its walk-in facility on 25th Avenue one week from today, on Wednesday, Nov. 15. The doctors that operate the clinic have said they can’t find enough support staff to keep it open, and have worked on solutions with Interior Health and the Ministry of Health for the last year, without success.

The Vernon Jubilee Hospital Emergency Department Physician Group issued a statement on the impact of the closure, “imploring the provincial government and Interior Health to find a solution which will allow the clinic to remain operating past its planned closure on Nov. 15.”

“We the physicians of the VJH emergency department write today to voice our grave concerns about the impact that the upcoming closure of Vernon’s only remaining walk-in clinic will have on our community and on our emergency department,” the statement sent to Vernon Matters said.

The emergency doctors said the Sterling closure comes just weeks after the Primacy walk-in clinic at the Real Canadian Superstore shut down at the end of September.

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“With the planned closure of Vernon’s last remaining walk-in clinic, 110-120 patients per day will now be left with limited options for treatment of their primary care and urgent care needs,” the ED doctors statement said.

“The loss of this walk-in clinic will impact the health of many vulnerable people in Vernon, Lumby, Armstrong, Spalllumcheen and surrounding communities who are not attached to a family physician.”

The statement added VJH emergency department physicians already treat an average of 150-165 patients per day.

“ED physicians are concerned about the ability of local resources, and especially the emergency department, to absorb the extra flow of the 110-120 patients who will now be looking for care elsewhere. While VJH administrators have stated they can increase nursing and support staff numbers in the emergency department, both physical space and emergency specialist physician numbers are limited,” the statement said.

The physicians note walk-in care serves as a pressure release on the health care system to serve patients who don’t have a family doctor and who are needing care for important but non-critical illness.

“We appeal to the provincial government and Interior Health to support our patients and our community by finding a solution to keep this walk-in care option open and operating in Vernon.”

Vernon Matters has reached out to Interior Health for an update on its efforts to keep the Sterling Centre clinic open, and for a comment on the concerns raised by the emergency department physicians.