Island Health made two announcements this week that will help improve access to care for those who need it.
The first announcement was related to expanded hours for the recently re-named Peninsula Primary Care Access Clinic, located at 2170 Mt. Newton Cross Road in Saanichton. \
This clinic was formerly known as the Peninsula After Hours Primary Care Clinic.
The new hours of operation are Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. These hours will include statutory holidays.
The changed hours came into effect on Wednesday, February 18th.
According to Island Health, all appointments must be booked on the day of the appointment and walk-ins are not possible at this clinic.
To book an appointment, patients can call 1-833-688-8722.
Those who are attached to a primary care provider or another clinic are encouraged to see their physician or nurse practitioner, rather than booking an appointment at the Peninsula Primary Care Access Clinic.
The Peninsula Primary Care Access Clinic is meant to treat for people who need non-emergency medical care for ailments such as:
- Minor injuries
- High fever, cough and colds
- Cuts, wounds or skin conditions, rashes
- Chest, ear or bladder infections
- Back pain
- Sprains and strains
- Headaches
Furthermore, registered nurses at the clinic can help patients with care services such as wound care, suture removal and chronic disease and lifestyle management.
The second announcement Island Health made this week was regarding an easier way to manage medical imaging appointments.
Island Health is changing the system by which patients receive and confirm outpatient medical imaging appointment notifications to make the process easier.
Beginning on February 23rd in the north and central Vancouver Island, and on March 3rd in the southern region of the island, patients enrolled in the MyHealth will be able to receive their appointment information by text and/or email instead of through an automated phone call.
Those not registered for MyHealth will continue to receive notifications by telephone.
Island Health warns that if a patient can’t be reached by telephone after three attempts, the appointment request will be cancelled and the provider who submitted the appointment request will be asked to follow up.
For those not registered with MyHealth, the patient portal is free to use, secure and gives patients convenient, 24/7 access to their personal health information.
How the new system will work is that patients will get a text message notifying them of their appointment. Those who have chosen to receive email notifications will also receive an email.
The notifications will include hospital location and full address, type of exam, the date and time of appointment, a link to confirm the appointment and view preparation instructions and a phone number to call for cancelling or rescheduling.
Island Health noted that notifications for BC Cancer breast screening appointments will continue to be sent by mail.
