In a facebook post in June, a large discussion was sparked surrounding healthcare operations in Sun Peaks. It was written to gather information from the community on how to access health care as a new member of the Sun Peaks population. Many comments were various iterations of the same concerns: not having a doctor at SPHC or not being transferred over to the new doctor, following Dr. Shane Barclay’s departure from Sun Peaks Health Centre (SPHC).
Christine Matuschewski, chief executive officer of Supporting Team Excellence with Patients Society (STEPS), the non-profit that manages Sun Peaks Health Centre (SPHC) sat down with SPIN to address community concerns about local health care given the recent staffing change.
The STEPS team is very interested in hearing everyone’s concerns, she said, adding that they can address them in the contact form on their website which goes directly to her email.
Patient transfers
Since Barclay’s retirement, most local patients have been transferred over to the clinic’s new doctor, Dr. Catherine Nowierski.
New residents seeking to register as a patient at SPHC will have to apply with a government issued piece of ID showing their local address and will then be placed on a waitlist, Matuschewski said. As capacity opens up with Nowierski or Dr. Signy Frank, more patients on this list will be brought in.
There were some challenges in moving people over, considering the transient nature of many people in Sun Peaks, and Matuschewski said those with a local address listed on their electronic medical record were prioritized in the transition.
If any locals were unable to be moved over, she said it was likely because their current address listed in the online system wasn’t local.
“[Patients] can look to see if their information is correct or not,” she said of those patients. “When they come in, remind the medical laboratory assistants to just catch up on their demographics, making sure their email is correct, their address is correct and their phone number is correct.”
Though Nowierski and SPHC prioritized attaching permanent residents of Sun Peaks to a doctor, Matuschewski said decisions about who is taken on as registered patients at STEPS clinics, including SPHC, include more than just geography.
“A good example is specific populations we know need more care in different ways, complex diseases, chronic diseases,” she explained.
By now, Nowierski has taken on a large number of patients, and if you are currently unattached to a doctor, there is no guarantee you will get one. However, she is still determining her capacity and considering taking on more people. Frank sees Kamloops patients as well as locals, Matuschewski said. Additionally, they’re having a new nurse practitioner start who will likely have a mix of both as well.
Urgent care service updates
On top of the existing urgent care offered by the health centre on weekends, there will now be an after-hours clinic open on Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
In a post on facebook, Matuschewski clarified the services offered at this clinic, which are the same as their weekend operations.
Weekend hours are on Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. this summer. Urgent care is for addressing acute medical conditions such as cold and flu symptoms, infections and physical injuries. For weekend appointments, you can call 778-765-5398 and for Wednesdays, call 778-644-0635. Walk-ins are helped as well, or you can use Pomelo to book online.
Patients who are attached to a SPHC doctor can also access urgent care at STEPS in Kamloops on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. All urgent care in Sun Peaks is accessible to anyone, registered patient or not.
“Dr. Nowierski also does longitudinal family practice during the week and if there’s an urgent concern that medical attention is needed on the patrol side, as she has capacity, she’ll go over and see people,” Matuschewski said.
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