Health
The West Coast Family Medical Clinic is recruiting Primary Care Physicians for the Sooke region – Please see posting by clicking here.
Addressing the health and social needs of Sooke residents is an important factor in building a community that is able to grow and prosper.
By focusing on building not just the physical infrastructure of our community, but also the social infrastructure, local elected officials work hand in hand with service organizations and other levels of government to contribute to citizen’s health and social needs.
Financial resources and responsibility for public health care rest largely within the provincial government. As such, the role of a local government is often an advocacy one, bringing together local voices and elevating the health care needs of the community to other levels of government.
In December of 2013, the Primary Health Care Services Working Group (PHCSWG) was formed, based on input from the community and an existing municipal initiative to address broad health and social needs. The PHCSWG brings together local and regional health care professionals, and since 2013 the group has tackled a multitude of community health needs, including:
- Physician recruitment
- Improved medical imaging services (X-ray and ultrasound)
- Sooke X-Ray Briefing Document 2016 (In late 2017, West Coast Medical Imaging improved the X-Ray technology available in Sooke)
- Collaborating on research and programming regarding the support needs of senior citizens.
- Advocacy for continued support of existing health infrastructure.
- Hosting two community forums to collect input on community needs, and share resources.
- Bringing together multiple stakeholders to advance the issue of improved Primary Health Care in the region, and explore the possibility of a Primary Health Care Centre (see below)
Sooke Region Primary Health Care
After many years of advocacy work, an expansion of the West Coast Family Medical Clinic was completed in June 2020. Further information regarding the expansion can be found here: https://sooke.ca/bc-govt-news-release-clinic-expansion-sooke/
Background:
The idea of a “one-stop shop” Health Care Centre had been discussed in Sooke for more than a decade, with several proposals coming forward during that time. Varying circumstances halted each proposal, but the need for expanded primary care has not changed.
In partnership with the the physicians of the West Coast Family Medical Clinic, the PHCSWG brought intense focus to improving Primary Health Care for the Sooke Region. Representatives from Island Health joined forces with the working group in 2017, a large stakeholder engagement session was held in November 2017 and a Public Open House held in June 2018.
Feedback from our Health Services Planning Open House on June 16, 2018
Thank you to everyone who took the time to come to the Open House regarding Sooke primary care services. The feedback we received reflected and validated what we heard from the previous stakeholders’ event which is summarized in the Sooke Community Health Service Planning Document.
- A summary of feedback we received from the Open House event, including “next steps” can be found here: Open House Feedback
- In case you missed the Open House, you can view the poster boards here: Poster Boards
For further information regarding the Primary Health Care Services Working Group, please contact Mayor Maja Tait at (250) 642-1634, or mtait@sooke.ca