A long-awaited walk-in clinic has finally moved to its permanent home in downtown Whitehorse. As of April 29, the clinic’s doors are open in the Mah’s Point building at the corner of Second Avenue and Jarvis Street.
The clinic’s hours are set for Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 4 p.m., with its phone lines open from 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is staffed by doctors, nurse practitioners, licensed practical nurses and support staff. Per the government news release announcing it had moved to its new location, the clinic will continue to provide non-urgent care services for Yukoners who don’t have a family doctor.
The clinic can handle treatment of minor injuries and illnesses, certain medical procedures, referrals to specialists and the prescription of some medication. More serious or specialized matters will still be dealt with at the hospital.
Yukoners are being urged to call 867-471-0035 to check on wait times and book same-day appointments. Walk-ins will also be accommodated as the clinic’s capacity allows.
The release notes that the clinic cared for more than 600 patients at its temporary location on Quartz Road following its opening in late 2023. The opening was a few weeks ahead of the deadline set in the confidence and supply agreement between the Yukon Liberal Party and Yukon NDP.
The territorial government’s budget includes $1.43 million to support the clinic’s operations over the next fiscal year.
Bringing back clinical care for people without a family doctor to Whitehorse has been a stated priority of the Yukon government in recent years but there were significant difficulties along the way to the opening of the new clinic. Services at another walk-in were halted in 2021 and staff shortages and economic concerns for the doctors involved got in the way of opening one in 2022, despite a $200,000 contribution offered by the territorial government.
“The clinic will provide a broad spectrum of essential health services and play a pivotal role in alleviating pressures, mostly at the Whitehorse General Hospital, giving individuals opportunities that they didn’t have before now,” Yukon Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee said at a May 1 grand-opening event for the clinic.
“It’s been a bit of a journey. So I do want to give a very special thanks and credit to the committed team of integrated health-care professionals on staff at the clinic and who work here and who have realized the clinic’s mission today.”
Annie Blake, the Yukon NDP MLA for Vuntut Gwitchin and its health critic, also spoke about the important contributions the clinic will make to Yukoners’ health and all of the hard work it has taken to open its doors.
McPhee made a ministerial statement on the opening of the clinic in the Yukon legislature on May 2.
Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon acknowledged the clinic as a positive step but also used his time on the floor to note that thousands of Yukoners lack a family doctor and that a recent survey by the Yukon Medical Association suggests that problem may be getting worse, not better.
“We heard over and over from Yukoners without a family doctor who had to go to the emergency room for simple, non-urgent things, like a prescription renewal or routine test. We heard the frustration and disappointment when the Liberals cancelled plans for a walk-in clinic in 2022. That is why I am so proud that the confidence and supply agreement could bring this change for Yukoners,” Blake said in the legislature.
She also expressed hope that the clinic might expand its offerings to provide walk-in appointments for Yukoners with family doctors in the future, noting the long wait times some people face when trying to get an appointment with their doctors.
“This stress is so real that we have even heard from Yukoners who have considered giving up their family doctors so that they can utilize the walk-in clinic. We hope that this gap will be filled and that, in the future, this clinic will be able to serve these Yukoners as well.”
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com