A clinic serving pediatric patients at Victoria General Hospital (VGH) will shut down next month.
Island Health confirmed Aug. 21 that the Urgent Pediatric Assessment Clinic (UPAC) at VGH will temporarily close Sept. 1.
Created in 2019, the UPAC helps reduce admissions to and expedite the discharge of patients from the emergency department by ensuring speedy follow-ups with pediatricians.
It stopped accepting new referrals Aug. 15.
In a statement, Island Health said VGH’s pediatrics on-call group, which provides care in a variety of settings, including the UPAC, has faced heightened demand for its services as the volume and complexity of cases have increased over the past several years.
The health authority added that this surge has created “workload challenges, physician burnout, and retention issues.”
The pediatrics group said it issued the clinic's notice of closure “in order to divert our manpower to providing more emergent care.”
“We continue our commitment to work collaboratively with Island Health to provide safe and compassionate care and to continue to build a sustainable pediatric program in our community that meets the needs of our expanding pediatric population,” the group added. “We are hopeful that we will be able to reopen the clinic and offer a more expanded service in the near future.”
Island Health expressed a similar sentiment, noting it is "determined to work with the doctors to get this service reopened as soon as possible."
The health authority added it has been working with the pediatrics group to address workload and compensation concerns and that they have developed “a proposed service model which will support recruitment and retention and prevent service reductions.”
The Ministry of Health has approved an alternative payment arrangement application from Island Health, which is working with the Health Employers Association of B.C. to begin negotiations for a new pediatrics group "as soon as possible."
Urgent pediatric consultation will be facilitated through the emergency department when the clinic closes.
