To ease some strain on Surrey’s emergency room, the Urgent and Primary Care Centre in Whalley has expanded its access to urgent care services.
In addition to the existing primary care providers, emergency room doctors and nurses are available to see patients at the centre seven days a week.
Dr. Craig Murray, regional medical director of emergency medicine for Fraser Health, told the Now-Leader that because of this expansion, patients will have quicker access to urgent care.
This is especially important in light of the strain our healthcare system is under said, Dr. Murray.
Last fall, as three viruses hit at the same time, emergency departments across the country were overflowing with patients who did not have life-threatening symptoms, yet needed urgent medical attention.
That’s when Dr. Murray and his team decided to find a way to ease the burden on emergency departments. They were seeing some patients in the region’s emergency rooms who did not require immediate medical attention, so they shifted their focus to urgent care centres in the area, including Surrey’s facility, which is located across the street from Surrey Memorial Hospital.
Since Dec. 12, 2022, emergency room doctors – including pediatric doctors – and nurses have joined the existing primary care providers at the centre. In addition to the primary care providers at the centre, the ER doctor and nurses are available to see anyone over the age of two from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. seven days a week.
Dr. Murray said staffing at Surrey Memorial ER has not been impacted by this change, and additional nurses have been added.
“We haven’t decreased nursing in the emerg at all,” he said. “In fact, the nurses were really very supportive of this idea.”
The hours of operation for the centre are:
Urgent Care walk-in hours
Seven days a week: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Emergency physician services
Emergency physician on site 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week
Primary Care appointment hours
Monday to Friday: 10 a.m. –to 5 p.m.
Weekends and statutory holidays: Check for available appointments.
The Urgent and Primary Care Centre is located in Surrey at 9639 137A St.
READ MORE: Young patients flood Surrey’s pediatric emergency room as region’s ERs overflow
READ MORE: State of Surrey Memorial Hospital’s emergency room ‘beyond a crisis’
anna.burns@surreynowleader.com
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