Despite its vacant appearance, the Sunshine Coast Primary Care Network (PCN) is open for business in downtown Sechelt — so long as you have a referral.
The centre opened in mid-January but, so far, its patient list is limited to those referred by a doctor or nurse practitioner to see the social worker, pharmacist or one of the two counsellors working out of the two-storey building.
Katie Clogg, PCN manager for the Sunshine Coast Division of Family Practice, explained this is just the first wave of services to be offered at centre.
“There are actually a lot of mental health services on the Coast, but it was figuring out where in the continuum of care that counsellors fit in. So, we landed on the scope of mild-to-moderate, more like preventive care,” said Clogg. “This is a mild-to-moderate mental health counselling service for adults, so their physicians are referring their patients who need mental health support, and they're seeing patients during weekly sessions, for an hour. It's free if you have MSP.”
Clogg notes the counselling offered at the centre is considered a short-term solution, so between eight-to-10 sessions, and the counsellor then reports back to the network. Because it’s team-based care, patients don't just have a physician. Instead, if a physician feels like that patient would benefit from counselling, social work or pharmacy supports, they can refer them to any member of the team.
She adds, the goal is that by the end of 2027, the network will include three full-time and one part-time social workers, two full-time and one part-time counsellors, six full-time and one part-time registered nurse with specialties, one shíshálh Nation Elder and Indigenous community champion, one community pharmacist and an unlimited number of family doctors and nurse practitioners.
The Sunshine Coast project is part of the province’s third wave of PCNs. About 100 PCNs are planned across the province by the end of 2025, each unique to its region.
“The goal of the primary care network is to deliver team-based primary care, so whereas traditionally, a patient will go to see their family doctor or nurse practitioner, now you have a team of people supporting you and supporting the doctor,” Clogg explained. “We’ve spent about two years developing a service plan, which was basically figuring out, where did doctors and providers feel like the gaps were? Where did they need help with their patients the most? Mental health is a big one. Chronic disease management is another, social work is another. So, we essentially made a list of professions that we felt would be the most helpful for team-based care on the Coast, and then had to write about a 50-page proposal including population data, and we did a lot of committees and outreach to the public. This was all during COVID, so, this was around 2018, 2020.”
The PCN, managed by the Division of Family Practice under Vancouver Coastal Health and funded by the provincial Ministry of Health, aims to alleviate doctor shortages by implementing this collaborative system.
Over the next four years, the Sunshine Coast PCN plans to transform local primary health-care services by introducing more than 18 new primary care (doctors and nurse practitioners) positions. This expansion is centered on the team-based care, extended and virtual hours, more mental-health support, patient navigation, culturally sensitive care, and integration with the Health Connect Registry centralized patient waitlist. Clogg adds, the initiative also focuses on improving access to care, particularly for vulnerable populations like frail seniors and youth.
Recruitment is ongoing and of vital importance, Clogg says. She notes the Coast has a lot to offer young families, it’s just a matter of getting doctors and nurse practitioners over here to see its potential.
“We’ve got this recruitment committee and we bring in family doctor and nurse practitioners to visit the community, but they ultimately choose where they want to work and what type of practice they want,” said Clogg. “And we are one of the facilities that they can choose from. We're asking anyone, if they know a doctor, to help spread the word.”
Clogg notes, as of this week, there are 42 family physicians and one nurse practitioner working on the Coast.
