The only clinic in the community of Ucluelet has narrowly avoided shutting down at the end of the month after an agreement was struck between Island Health, the clinic’s doctors and their landlord.
The Ucluelet Medical Clinic faced closure after its lease ended at the end of May because of unsustainable overhead costs, doctors told CHEK News earlier this month.
With overhead costs in the $120,000 per year range and a provincial system that pays family doctors about $30 a patient, Dr. Carrie Marshall said she could barely break even on some days.
“This is an unsustainable system and we’re seeing effects of that almost daily,” said Marshall.
Shannon McWhinney, a Ucluelet resident, says she is relieved to hear of the deal.
“For a community not to have a medical centre,” McWhinney said. “We just need one so badly.”
The clinic’s closure would have meant that Ucluelet residents needing medical care would be forced to drive 40 minutes to see a doctor in Tofino, or even farther to Port Alberni.
But on Wednesday, Island Health announced that it has found a solution that will support the clinic for up to 18 months as work continues on a primary care network for the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The agreement means doctors will be available in-person on Mondays and Wednesdays, while virtual appointments will be available Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Marshall said she thought the clinic would be the next to join the long list of clinic closures in the province.
“I was not expecting that actually,” Marshall said. “I felt we had exhausted every route that I knew.”
Island Health says it will pitch in for overhead costs including utilities, janitorial services and supplies while a longer-term solution is worked out.
“In the weeks and months ahead, Island Health, the Long Beach Chapter of the Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice, and local Indigenous communities and patient partners will work collaboratively to develop a service plan for the Ministry of Health to establish a Primary Care Network for the region,” Island Health said.
Island Health Community Health Services staff will also be able to work out of a dedicated workspace in the community, as opposed to the offices in Tofino they currently work in.
CHEK News
