The Huron Perth and Area Ontario Health Team have launched a new initiative to help those who don't have access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner.
The new Unattached Care Clinics, or UCCs, are clinics available only to those who don't already have a primary care provider.
Robin Spence Haffner, Executive Director of Listowel-Wingham and Area Family Health Team, says the clinics will offer a range of care, from small things to bigger preventative measures.
"If you have what we call an episodic issue, you know, you're knee hurts, that sort of thing, or things that are more preventative, because a lot of what we try to do in primary care is prevention. Things like cancer screenings, vaccinations, that sort of thing," Spence Haffner explained.
Spence Haffner says appointments must be made at the 6 available clinics that are located throughout Huron and Perth, and you must do so by phone. The clinics are located in Stratford, Listowel, Wingham, Goderich, Zurich, and Exeter, and Spence Haffner reiterates they are NOT walk-in clinics.
"It's not an urgent care centre or a walk-in clinic. There are other places that we would direct people for that sort of thing. You do need to call, so people are asked to call the location that's closest to them. We're kind of strategically located throughout Huron and Perth," Added Spence Haffner.
Currently, provincial estimates have the number of Ontarians without a primary caregiver at over 2.5 million. The goal of the new UCCs, as Spence Haffner points out, is to feature care across a wide spectrum for those who can't access a primary caregiver right now.
"Acute illnesses or management of chronic conditions, things like diabetes or cardiac issues, those sorts of things. All of the clinics also have mental health navigation and support built into them," Spence Haffner pointed out. "We also offer preventative things like cancer screenings, vaccines and things like wellness advice, as well. Our teams are really good at navigating the system and can help people get connected both within our teams at the Unattached Care Clinics, but also with the rest of the communities so people can get the care that they need."
This launch of the UCCs builds on an announcement earlier this year of a new mobile clinic in the area.
More information on the Huron Perth and Area Ontario Health Team Unattached Care Clinics can be found here: https://hpaoht.ca/ucc/