More access to health care and more jobs to accommodate the access are coming to the North Okanagan-Shuswap.
B.C. Premier David Eby announced at Vernon Jubilee Hospital Friday, Feb. 2, the establishment of a primary care network (PCN) that will add almost 75 health-care providers to the region.
“I know many people are worried about access to family doctors,” said Eby. “The work we are doing in Vernon and the broader North Okanagan and Shuswap region to hire dozens of primary health-care providers will mean more people will get better access to the services they need.”
The PCN will include nearly 75 new full-time health-care provider positions when fully operational, and attach approximately 22,500 people to a health-care provider over the next four years. Those positions will include family doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, mental health registered practised nurses, allied health providers, dietitians, occupational, physio, and respiratory therapists, social workers, pharmacists, Indigenous and administrative resources.
“We know people in the North Okanagan Shuswap area need increased access to primary health-care services,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, who accompanied Eby to Vernon Friday. “By investing in the development of a new primary-care network in Vernon, and adding more health-care professionals in the community, we are demonstrating our commitment to connecting more people to health-care services.”
“I hear from people in the region about the need to take more action to help people access health care,” said Harwinder Sandhu, MLA for Vernon-Monashee and Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors’ Services. “This new primary-care network is great news for our communities. It will help provide better access to care and I look forward to having more health-care workers supporting people in the region.”
The PCN will strengthen team-based care and improve access and attachment to primary-care services, including through virtual health services, a teaching network and extended operating hours for North Okanagan communities.
As well, a team of primary-care and allied health professionals will be recruited to support Indigenous health needs, providing more co-ordinated and culturally safe primary-care services for Indigenous people in the area.
For people and families, it means extended access to health-care services during evenings and weekends, and being connected to appropriate services and supports in the community. The PCN will use the Health Connect Registry to help connect people to primary-care providers within its geography.
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