New Fredericton urgent care centre aims to alleviate pressure on hospital ER, but staffing still a challenge

A new urgent care centre on Fredericton’s north side is hoping to take some of the pressure off the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital emergency department, despite being open just two days a week.

The centre is open Mondays and Wednesdays, and it can see anyone suffering from non-life-threatening medical needs like lacerations, lumps or bumps, skin infections, and even broken bones, as it includes medical imaging service, such as X-rays and ultrasounds.

It’s essentially an extension of the emergency room, with no appointment required. Once more established, it will move to the traditional triage model, where patients experiencing the most serious medical needs will be seen first.

Health Minister Bruce Fitch says it’s open two days a week right now, but once staffing is more stable, the goal is for it be open seven days a week.

Dr. Krishna Pulchan, head of Horizon’s Emergency Medicine department in the Fredericton area, says he hopes people see more timely access to health-care services.

He recognizes the Chalmers ER has received its share of criticism and challenges.

“When a patient dies in the waiting room and not getting that chance to be seen, there's no words that could comfort such a family. The only thing that can help is an effort to try and serve better,” he said. “In the last couple of years, I have had to meet with families, and I can tell you this, there’s nothing you can say. Those are moments that you have to just be receptive and listen and take every criticism for what it is as an opportunity to find a way to better serve.”

An urgent care care in Fredericton. (Laura Brown/CTV Atlantic)

On Wednesday, the centre had already seen 59 patients by noon. The waiting room was full, so Pulchan exchanged his tie for scrubs and started seeing patients.

Some said they had already gone to emergency rooms in Fredericton and Oromocto, waiting hours, but left before they were seen.

Corina Roth said she waited more than 17 hours at the Chalmers last week, and while she’s grateful for a different place to go, she has some concerns.

“At this moment, I think they're already overwhelmed and I don't think they have enough people to see all the people who are sitting out here,” she said.

The N.B. Medical Society also has concerns.

Dr. Paula Keating says the Society supports the investment, but there’s already been “difficulty staffing similar services in areas such as Minto, Upper River Valley, and Oromocto, so adding another of these centres could prove challenging.”

“The unfortunate reality is that as important and convenient as these services are, physician time spent working in a walk-in clinic or urgent care centre reduces their capacity to take on new patients within traditional family practice,” she said. “A potential risk is that this initiative aimed at improving patient access to urgent care could in turn lead to an increase in the waitlist of patients with and without a family physician.”

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