New Urgent Care Centre in Regina to open and accept patients on July 2

Regina’s urgent care centre almost ready WATCH: After a ceremonial cutting of the gauze on Thursday, Regina’s urgent care centre is nearly ready. Angela Stewart reports.

People in Regina will have another option when it comes to accessing healthcare.

The new Regina Urgent Care Centre (UCC), located on Albert Street, will provide care for non-life threatening injuries and illnesses and will also offer mental health and addiction supports.

"There are really two gaps in our healthcare system that this building and more importantly the people that will offer the service within in it are really there to address,” said Premier Scott Moe.

The new centre came at a cost of $18.7 million. It’s intended to take the pressure off of the emergency rooms at Regina’s hospitals, making it the first of its kind for Saskatchewan.

"There is a couple of different entry points to the urgent care centre. One for specifically mental health and addictions and for other medical conditions of course. You know, if you happen to go in the other door, you'll of course be re-directed and triaged to the appropriate part of the building,” said Minister of Health Everett Hindley.

The UCC will be fully staffed with emergency room and family physicians, nurse practitioners and registered nurses.

Construction on the facility was completed in April. The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) completed a recruiting period for staff members to be hired.

The SHA said so far, 117 staff members have been hired. They hope to have 130 full-time staff.

“We have more than 40 different physicians that will be rotating through, providing services at the urgent care centre,” said Andrew Will, SHA’s CEO.

Funding for the site is covered by the province.

The Hospitals of Regina Foundation donated $2.4 million towards the facility, with that money going towards medical equipment, furniture and fixtures throughout the space.

The UCC will open its doors to patients on July 2. It will operate at a phased approach from 8 a.m., to 9:30 p.m., seven days a week.

Later this fall, opening hours are expected to expand to 24-hours a day.

Additionally, plans for a similar centre in Saskatoon are underway, according to the government.