A new Urgent and Primary Care Center (UPCC) has officially opened in Langley, offering evening and weekend medical care for issues that are not quite serious enough for a trip to the ER.
The new center is temporarily in place at unit 101, 20651 56 Ave., and is open 5 pm to 9 pm on weekdays, and 9 am to 8 pm on weekends and statutory holidays. The current site is also home to Fraser Health’s Home Health and Rapid Access Clinic offices.
It will be moving to a permanent location at 20434 64 Ave. in the future when construction at that site is complete, with expanded hours of operation, according to a statement from Fraser Health.
“I’m thrilled that more people in Langley will receive the timely urgent and primary care they need in their own community,” said Langley MLA Andrew Mercier.
“With evening and weekend hours, this clinic will provide expanded access for people who are juggling busy schedules, while providing more options to receive the care they need,” said Langley East MLA Megan Dykeman.
The government has been opening UPCCs around the province. They’re intended to be an alternative to clinics and hospital emergency rooms.
With most clinics – which are privately run by doctors – closed in the evenings or part of the week, anyone who needed to see a doctor urgently had to go to the nearest hospital ER.
That has left ERs dealing with everything from major medial emergencies and serious injuries, to more minor but urgent medical complaints, like sprains, cuts, high fevers, and minor infections.
The UPCCs are intended to treat those urgent but not life-threatening types of cases.
The center is available both to people who don’t have a family doctor or nurse practitioner, and also to those who do have one, but can’t get in to see them fast enough.
This is the 10th UPCC to officially launch in the Fraser Health region.
