British Columbia's health minister has announced the opening of the province's fifth urgent primary care centre in order to lessen demand on emergency departments. The centres are part of the government's plan to reform primary care through a "team-based" approach that includes a doctor and other health-care providers including nurse practitioners and pharmacists. "It's our intention, our determination, to have one new urgent primary care centre in each health authority every six months for the next two years," Dix said. Dr. Eric Cadesky, president of Doctors of BC, said the best health-care systems in the world include access to strong primary health care. "We're hopeful that this urgent primary care centre will be able to meet two of our community's greatest needs: access to urgent care after traditional business hours and attachment of people to family doctors who will care for them on an ongoing, long-term basis," Cadesky said.

Source: CBC News November 25, 2018 21:45 UTC