New revamped DTES clinic aims to take load off ER

Vancouver Coastal Health has revamped the way it offers services at three Downtown Eastside clinics.

"Clients will no longer have to travel to multiple sites to address their needs," saidBonnie Wilson, the health authority's director of inner city and mental health and substance use.

Starting Tuesday Jan. 23, residentswill be able to see a physician, a counsellor or a social worker under one roof.

Wilson said the centre is designed to make it easier for marginalized people to access care since, so many services will be offered in the same building.

TheHeatleyCommunity Health Centre at 330HeatleyAve.only provided mental health servicesbut will now offer "wraparound" services.

The newly unveiled facility has exams rooms, a talking room,and a supervised injection site which will be up and running once it receivesapproval from Health Canada.

The centre will also focus on Indigenous health.

It has a sacred space that has proper venting to allow for smudging ceremonies and storestraditional medicine.

Elders will also be part of the care model.

"They are our indigenous population's opportunity to access culturally safe care and also cultural practices," saidLeslieBonshor, the executive advisor ofAboriginal Health atVCH.

The two other existing facilities on Pender and Powell also underwent minor renovations. Theywill begin offering a similar integrated model and all three clinics have extended their hours.

"These sites will be open 12-hours-a-day and the Downtown Community Health Centre [on Powell Street] ] will be open on weekends. Additionally, we will have GPs and nurse practitioners available 24/7 on call," said Wilson.

Wilson expects given the extended hours and integrated teams, they will have capacity to handle an additional 3,000 patients each year.

Currently, the three clinics see a total of 6,000 patients annually.

The health authority also anticipates that the new systemwill relieve some of the pressures and wait times at emergency departments.

"By being open later in the evening andby having on-call capability, we're definitely hoping that our clients use that as a service instead of going into the E.D.," said Wilson.

Dr. Michael Norbury, the medical director of primary care with Vancouver Coastal Health, said the new system will allow the emergency room physician to contact the nurse practitioner to review the patient's chart.

"Sometimes that allows a safer and more obvious decision to be made overnight, and then the integrated care team can see the client again the following morning, rather than working in silo," said Dr.Norbury.