Yukoners who don’t have a dedicated primary care provider can finally see a doctor or a nurse at a so-called walk-in clinic and an item on the Yukon NDP’s wish list has been delivered: the Whitehorse Walk-In Medical Clinic opened part-time in the Yukon’s capital on Dec. 18.
“It was like Christmas came early,” Yukon NDP Leader Kate White told the News on Dec. 15. That’s when the opening day for the new clinic was announced in a Yukon government press release.
The release notes the clinic will temporarily start out at 9010 Quartz Rd., prior to moving to a permanent site at Mah’s Point on Second Avenue in the new year. It will run Mondays through Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Opening a walk-in clinic in Whitehorse by January 2024 is a pledge in the confidence and supply agreement, also known as CASA, between the governing Yukon Liberal Party and the Yukon NDP. In effect, the third party has been advancing some of its priorities while keeping the government in power.
Whitehorse’s only operating walk-in clinic stopped accepting new patients and walk-ins in 2021, leaving people without a walk-in clinic in the city.
Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee previously announced that a walk-in clinic would be coming to Whitehorse in 2022. That plan failed.
Yukoners without a primary care provider are intended to get served at the newly opened clinic.
“The clinic serves Yukon residents who do not have a primary care provider, like a doctor or nurse,” reads the website.
“If you already have a primary care provider, the clinic will direct you back to them.”
An email from Zachary Burke, who works in communications for the health department, said the clinic is “focusing” on serving Yukoners without a primary care provider at this time.
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A doctor, nurse practitioner and “other essential health-care professionals” will be “operating” the new clinic, per the press release. Burke’s email notes the team is made up of “physicians and nurse practitioners.” Other folks may be added later depending on the needs presented at the facility, per the release.
The clinic is intended to treat minor sickness and injuries and provide simple medical procedures, referrals and prescriptions for non-narcotic medications for Yukoners without a dedicated doctor or nurse practitioner, per the website and release.
The clinic is designed to prevent delays and take pressure off the Whitehorse hospital’s emergency room.
The clinic won’t offer emergency services, long-term care, on-site specialist consultations, major surgical procedures, advanced diagnostics or maternity and childbirth services. The release advises patients needing that kind of care to go to their primary care provider or the Whitehorse General Hospital or call 911 for emergencies.
McPhee is quoted in the release saying that this opening marks a “pivotal moment” in making health care more accessible.
“This clinic is not just a new facility; it’s a promise to our community to increase timely and compassionate care, especially for those who currently lack a primary health-care provider,” McPhee said.
“We are committed to adapting and responding to the health care needs of all Yukoners, helping to provide everyone with access to quality medical care when and where they need it.”
The new clinic will be temporarily closing over the holidays from Dec. 25 to Jan. 2.
The quantity of and names of the doctor or doctors working at the clinic were not provided by the department to the News by publication.
READ MORE: Yukon government wants to see a doctor — or 3 — for walk-in clinic advice
A Dec. 15 email statement attributed to Yukon Party health critic Brad Cathers points to concerns the party has raised about “whether the model the government was considering would be successful at attracting a new doctor from outside of the Yukon, or if the walk-in clinic would poach a family physician from an existing practice.”
“The announcement provides no information about if this is a new physician, or one poached from another clinic. If the doctor was already practising here, it will mean other Yukoners are without a doctor, or waiting longer for appointments,” reads the statement.
Cathers remains skeptical.
“We hope for the sake of Yukoners that it will be successful,” he said.
“The Yukon Party would make recruitment of doctors a priority, including increasing incentives to move here, supporting residency programs and increasing the medical education bursary.”
According to the health minister’s briefing notes prepared for the fall sitting of the legislature, as of Nov. 6, more than 3,400 Yukoners are on the wait list to be matched with a primary care provider, formerly known as the find-a-doctor program. Since that program expanded to include nurse practitioners, 132 people have been matched with a nurse. Five primary care providers are enrolled in the program.
White said the opening of a walk-in clinic is a win despite the clinic not being open full-time. She believes it will have a ripple effect in the health-care system.
“It’s going to make a massive difference for people,” she said.
“Dozens of people every single day go to the emergency room for non-emergency things and they don’t want to be there, but they have no other access to health care, and so, I imagine we will start to feel that effect pretty quickly.”
In an attempt to manage patient traffic as the clinic opens, potential clients are being asked to call ahead to check wait times and book a same-day appointment.
Those who walk in without an appointment might not get seen.
“To get a same-day appointment, call 867-471-0035 and ask for an appointment. If you come in without an appointment, a health-care provider might not be available to see you,” reads the website.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com