The Westshore Urgent Primary Care Centre (WUPCC) is an Island Health-operated walk-in clinic offering episodic patient access to doctors and other clinicians. The Westshore Primary Care Society is an umbrella charitable organization that aims to improve access to primary care across the Westshore on a regional basis, working to grow not-for-profit clinics in the region.

Two clinics (that wish to remain anonymous at this time) have applied to transition into Westshore Primary Care Society-operated clinics rather than close down. These clinics should come fully under the umbrella of our organization by the end of 2023. After onboarding these two clinics, we will be looking at other possible spaces and engaged in long-term planning for future new clinic spaces.

Westshore Primary Care Society clinics will provide MSP-covered services funded by existing provincial funding for health care. New clinics will continue to be funded through the Medical Services Plan payments to physicians working in the clinic, under a variety of payment models available to prospective doctors. Infrastructure costs such as building new/refitting old clinics and other services that are not covered by MSP (e.g. counsellors) may be funded through a variety of sources, including through fundraising.

Primary Care is a patient’s first community contact with the health care system, where a patient is attached to a family physician or nurse practitioner, and a team of other clinicians.

Longitudinal Care means you receive care from people who know you well over time, and can integrate your life context and your values into your overall care. This is as opposed to Episodic Care where you see a different clinician every time and they likely do not know your history.

Trauma-informed Care takes into account the notion that trauma and painful experiences in our past can inform the way that we receive care in the future, and our needs in the health care system.

Culturally-safe Care means that the care you receive takes into account your cultural background and how that might affect your needs in the clinic context.

The findings of the Primary Care Survey will be published later in 2023 in the society’s e-newsletter. Anyone interested in staying in the loop about the survey and our organization’s work to increase access to primary care on the Westshore, should sign-up on our website to receive updates as they become available.