Sun Peaks clinic aims to help emergency department in Kamloops

In an effort to assist the medical staff at the Royal Inland Hospital Emergency Department (RIHED), the Sun Peaks Community Health Centre (SPCHC) is asking patients to contact their clinic for non-life or limb threatening injuries or illnesses before heading down to Kamloops.

Currently, due to COVID-19, RIHED is experiencing challenges and delays for patients waiting for emergency services. SPCHC is hoping they can help with the hospital’s work load and assist patients in receiving timely care. 

Laura Bantock, the executive director of SPCHC, said although they are certainly not a hospital and cannot be open 24 hours a day, the clinic is capable of dealing with some emergencies. 

“If you’re in doubt or you just need some help problem solving, give us a call first,” said Bantock. “We’ll try to help you reach the right conclusion.”

To prevent their phone lines from becoming too busy, SPCHC is also urging registered patients to make their regular routine appointments online using the Health Myself Portal. As long as an email is on record, patients can go to sunpeakshealth.com and click the schedule tab for the link to register. If unable to register, call the clinic and give the staff an email address.

Bantock said the clinic has always had emergency fit-ins, but they thought now was a good time to remind the community they can be seen for acute issues. 

“We sat down as medical staff and discussed what we can offer to do that is sustainable and practical for our community,” said Bantock. “When we hear about the strain our colleagues in the emergency department are experiencing in this situation, there’s no hesitation from any of us, we are going to reach out and help where we can.”

SPCHC phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Bantock said they are working towards being open for weekends once again as soon as they can.