With thousands of Sunshine Coast residents without a regular doctor, and no solution on the horizon, medical services have expanded to accommodate those in need.
A centralized waiting list for a new doctor, easier access to prescriptions, and a 24-hour health service navigator are some of the services offered to try and alleviate the demand for medical practitioners on the Coast.
Same-day appointments
Several clinics on the Coast are offering same-day appointments, which are essentially walk-in appointments with a slight change in procedure.
Instead of physically walking into the clinic to check for availability, a quick phone call will determine if a practitioner will be able to see you that day.
Each day a given physician is working, there will be some appointment spaces left open until that morning. The best way to book a same-day appointment is to phone each morning that practitioner is available.
This service is available to both attached and unattached patients, meaning those without a family doctor can make appointments.
Clinics offering same-day appointments on the lower Sunshine Coast are:
- Gibsons Medical Clinic, available after 8:30 a.m. – 604-886-2868
- Upstream Family Medical Centre, available after 9 a.m. – 604-885-6400
- Cowrie Medical Clinic, available after 10 a.m. – 604-670-6222
In June, Cowrie Medical Clinic also added a free cancer screening service for those who are without a family doctor.
Not all practitioners at these clinics offer same-day appointments and appointments are entirely dependent on doctor availability.
Other resources
A statement from the Ministry of Health highlighted some of the new resources available to the public.
- Pharmacies have been given an increased scope. As of June 1, people in B.C. can now get prescriptions from their pharmacists for contraceptives and medications to treat 21 minor ailments, as well as long-term prescriptions. To see where yours are available, and to can book appointments, visit www.gov.bc.ca/seeapharmacist
- Anyone with medical questions can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to speak with a health service navigator, access health services and connect with an 8-1-1 nurse, dietitian, exercise professional, pharmacist or, if applicable, a physician.
Finding a doctor
According to the Ministry of Health, the quickest way to find a new family doctor or family practitioner is to join the Sunshine Coast centralized waitlist. People can register with the Health Connect Registry to better connect to primary-care providers through healthlinkbc.ca/health-connect-registry.
To search for nearby community providers and clinics, visit pathwaysmedicalcare.ca/.
In case of emergency
The emergency department at Sechelt Hospital provides care for residents in need of immediate treatment for accidents, acute illness and trauma.
In a previous interview with Coast Reporter, Dr. Rob Lehman, chair of the Sunshine Coast Division of Family Practice said that the emergency department is the only of its kind on the Coast.
“Unfortunately, what the emergency department of the hospital has to try to accommodate, is asking people to find that balance between how [much of an] emergency the situation is that they need to come to the hospital for,” he said.
Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
