Early in 2017, a group calling themselves Residents for Healthcare circulated petitions calling for the Town of Osoyoos to support establishing a walk-in medical clinic here.
The group – led by Marilyn Muldoon, Brenda Dorosz and Gaye Horn – gathered roughly 1,200 signatures.
Besides the need for a walk-in clinic, residents expressed concerns about the difficulties obtaining a family doctor, the need to travel for basic medical services, and the periodic closures of the emergency department at South Okanagan General Hospital (SOGH) in Oliver due to physician shortages.
They proposed that the building just east of town hall, now the home of Desert Sun Counselling and Resource Centre, be used as a walk-in clinic when Destination Osoyoos moved to the highway.
Much has changed in the past 17 months, though many of those problems still exist.
The arrival of several new physicians has alleviated some of the shortage, and some residents previously without have now been able to obtain family doctors.
But it remains true that far too many people are having to travel to SOGH emergency for minor problems that could be handled here – if Osoyoos followed the lead of other communities across Canada that have established clinics employing a team approach to handle medical situations occurring outside business hours.
To their credit, the Town of Osoyoos council and administration picked up the ball and ran with it. They obtained a $100,000 provincial grant to conduct a feasibility study.
Even before that, the town proactively engaged with local doctors, where they learned that the proposed walk-in clinic had problems, but a centralized medical facility could assist in attracting new physicians and developing the services the community needs.
Of course there was some of the usual populist grumbling about how there was no need for a study because “the people” already knew all the answers.
But choices about the kinds of services needed, how to attract them, where to put them and how to make them financially viable are more complex than many people realize. And without a proper feasibility study, there is little chance of buy-in from senior governments or the private sector.
That feasiblity study is now complete and the consulting firm, Colliers Project Leaders Advisory Services, presented the report to council on Monday.
The report is an excellent starting point, but it’s by no means the final word. It’s not a blueprint, but it will give the incoming council something to build from.
There will need to be hard decisions made about location, financing, recruitment and much more.
None of the preferred locations is centrally located, suggesting that transportation problems will also need to be addressed.
And there will need to be renewed discussions with Interior Health, the Town of Oliver, physicians and the community about how the pieces will come together for the betterment of the entire region.
The next town council must not let this report collect dust. Our health care is too important.
