Q:

A: The answer is yes and no. While they had an obligation to take on patients who were rostered through doctors who have left or retired from the community, Dr. Bourget said they’ve tried to look at the population as a whole and to recognize the most vulnerable without overwhelming the team they now have in place.

“The people we’ve identified so far are those requiring prenatal care, children under six years, palliative care patients – that’s an area that Dr. Chang has been working in – and people who are identified as a high priority after hospital discharge.”

While community members can self- refer to the clinic if they’re pregnant or for their children under six years, hospital discharge patients are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Crystal Harris, a nurse practitioner working with the collaborative health team, said she’s doing her best to take people on, every week and every duty clinic she works.

“I’m impressed with how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time,” Harris said. “We feel like the access is improving and we’re able to see more patients in a timely manner when they want to come or need to come. I can’t speak for everybody, but I know I’m accepting new patients every day – I’m constantly adding people to my roster – so that can only help.”

See FAQs, Page B2