News

Residents of Fort St. James and the surrounding area will have better access to local health care with the addition of new full-time primary care physicians in the region.

Working in partnership with the Tl’azt’en Nation, Nak’azdli Whut’en and the Fort St. James Primary Care Society, Northern Health will contract two additional physicians to support outreach services to surrounding First Nations communities. The physicians will start seeing patients under the new contracts on Nov. 1, 2018.

The Quesnel Urgent Primary Care Centre will soon open to provide people a new option for same-day access to urgent primary care.

It will be the first Urgent Primary Care Centre (UPCC) in the North under the government’s primary health-care strategy.

The new Quesnel Urgent Primary Care Centre was created through a partnership between the Ministry of Health, Northern Health, and the Northern Interior Division of Family Practice. An annualized budget of $1.1 million in funding has been allocated by the ministry to establish the centre.

Better care is on the way for people in Fort St. James and the surrounding region.

The Stuart Lake Hospital replacement project has received the official green light, with government approval of the concept plan.

Discussions regarding the replacement of the hospital have been ongoing since 2008. In September 2015, Northern Health submitted a concept plan to the Ministry of Health. Northern Health submitted a revised concept plan to government in summer 2018, which was approved in October 2018. The project now moves to business plan phase.

Northern Health is proud to partner with organizations across the country to celebrate and raise awareness around patient safety during the last week of October. Canadian Patient Safety Week 2018 runs from October 29 to November 2.

The University Hospital of Northern BC is currently experiencing higher-than-normal volumes of patients, and Northern Health is both working on and looking forward to measures that will reduce pressure on the UHNBC emergency department, and improve the overall flow of patients.

Northern Health is embarking on a new series of consultations with residents in communities across the region this fall to gather input on ‘Heart Health’. This continues the Northern Health Board’s commitment to broaden our understanding on topics that matter to northern residents. This consultation will focus on the spectrum of heart health from prevention to services, treatment and hospital care.

Northern Health is looking for community partners with ideas for projects that will improve the health of those living, working, learning and playing in northern BC. The next opportunity to apply for IMAGINE Community Grants will be launched on September 1, 2018.

Out of an abundance of caution, Northern Health is proactively moving patients from Stuart Lake Hospital in Fort St. James, as part of advance planning related to wildfire activity.

Stuart Lake Hospital remains open. The hospital/emergency department remains open for urgent care needs and will continue to be, unless the status of alerts or orders significantly changes. Lab and medical imaging services also continue.