A controversial private clinic, which stopped charging fees for urgent care after being accused of contravening health care rules, reopened for British Columbia patients under a new operating scheme on Monday.

The Urgent Care Centre at the False Creek Surgical Centre charges fees for on-site access to emergency room physicians.

"We believe we are within the legal boundaries," medical director Dr. Mark Godley told reporters.

The high-tech facility has been treating out-of-province and foreign patients since it opened its doors last December.

The clinic which was initially open to everyone, closed its doors to B.C. residents after the province accused it of contravening the Canada Health Act and threatened legal action.

Now the clinic has apparently found a loophole in provincial public health care rules that allows it to reopen for B.C. patients.

Godley, who opened the clinic with several investors, said the facility has now hired out-of-province doctors.

By hiring emergency care doctors who never enrolled with the B.C. Medical Services Plan, they are allowed to levy private fees.

Health Minister George Abbott said it appears the private clinic is operating within the law, The Globe and Mail reported.

But NDP health critic Adrian Dix said such "legal gamesmanship" could hurt the health care system.

"It amounts to a publicity stunt, but it has implications for the public system -- and I think very negative ones."

The Canada Health Act and the province's Medicare Protection Act bars physicians or clinics from charging patients for medically necessary services that are covered by publicly funded medicare.

The clinic charges a fee of $199 for diagnosis and treatment, plus extra fees for specific procedures.

"Our new approach to staffing means we are bringing additional doctors into B.C. and not taking any out of the existing public system,'' Godley told The Canadian Press.

"We will also be able to relieve some of the pressure on hospital emergency rooms and help reduce wait times.''

The province is expected to monitor the clinic, which is believed to have hired doctors from Alberta and Manitoba.

The 10-bed Urgent Care Centre has high-resolution MRI scanners, 3D ultrasound, digital X-ray and point-of-care blood testing that provides results within five minutes.

The False Creek Surgical Centre was established in 1997 for private surgical and diagnostic procedures.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Jina You