Only walk-in clinic in Williams Lake, B.C., open to patients

The only walk-in clinic in Williams Lake, B.C., opened its doors to patients this week.

Borland Medi-Clinicwill serve the city of over 10,000 people, where patients needing assistance with minor medical issues previously had no choice but to visit the emergency room at Cariboo Memorial Hospital.

Family physician Dr. Johann Schreve and his wife Suzanne, a health coach, will run the clinic together.

Schreve was an emergency doctor at the hospital for two years, where he said about80 per cent of ER patients were there forfor non-emergencies, such as colds, doctor's notes and worker's compensation injuries.

"I wanted to create another point of access for those patients," he said.

"I hope it will mean they can be helped in a decent amount of time, and that we can do a full physical and provide excellent health care outside of the emergency room where people are usually more stressed out."

Schreve said he and his wife began work on the clinic in December,but they've had the idea for much longer.

The clinic offers prescriptions, requisitions for lab work and x-rays, minor surgical procedures like mole removals, and specialist referrals.

With files from Jenifer Norwell