Health-care workers appeal to reopen wound care clinic in Downtown Eastside

Health-care workers on the Downtown Eastside are appealing to the local health authority to reopen a clinic aimed at providing wound care.

A group of Downtown Eastside health-care and outreach workers want Vancouver Coastal Health to reinstate a wound care clinic in the neighbourhood.

The group said there’s a need for this kind of care, and that additional resources could help relieve pressure on an already over-burdened health-care system.

Blake Edwards, a nursing student and long-time outreach worker in the DTES, said a proposal has been submitted to VCH about reopening the Mend and Tend program that used to operate out of the Evelyne Saller Community Centre on Alexander Street.

He said some residents face barriers to accessing health care, such as not having a family doctor, or experiencing a previous negative interaction.

“What we’re asking for is a low-barrier clinic, really addressing those barriers that may exist for people that can’t present to a clinic, and trying to reduce that strain from having the hospital as their only option,” he said.

‘Opportunity to build trust’

Andi Leitch, a community health nurse, said a low-barrier approach meets people where they’re at, and bridges the gap to connect people to other services.

“It’s so simple, but it’s actually very profound,” Leitch said.

“I think for many people who don’t have trust to necessarily go into hospital or even to go into a clinic to start an intake, to get a doctor, it’s like an olive branch moment where we get an opportunity to build trust.”

Artist and DTES resident Edgar Rossetti said he’s struggled to access this kind of care at local hospitals.

“It is really hard to get care down here,” he said. “I know because I lived on the street for ten years.”

He said he’d like to see more services like the mobile outreach van operated by Kílala Lelum, an Indigenous-led health co-op.

“These guys are a Godsend,” he said.

‘Infection is quick’

Long-time resident Samona Marsh agreed, saying she received care from the Kílala Lelum team after suffering third-degree burns.

Marsh said if people don’t get the access they need, things can escalate for the worse.

“Especially down here, our life-rate is already cut in half,” she said.

“Most of us don’t live in ideal situations, so infection is quick. A lot of people I know have had to get their legs amputated because of it.”

The van has been in operation since 2020 and provides a range of services to those in the neighbourhood.

Molly Anggo, a registered nurse with Kílala Lelum, said she often treats chronic wounds that are injection or burn-related.

Anggo said creating relationships with community members is why the mobile van is successful.

“There’s a great, long history of mobile medical services in the Downtown Eastside, and nurses being out in the forefront of health care in the Downtown Eastside,” she said.

She said clients are more likely to listen to health-care workers because trust has been established.

“They will take that leap and they will face some barriers in hospital because a trusting person has said, ‘Actually, I care enough about you.’”

Erinn Taggart, the primary care co-lead at Kílala Lelum, said the need for the mobile van’s service is so great, they’re having to turn people away.

“We have seen an uptick over the past five years, and the need for nursing supports,” Taggart said. “We started with one nurse practitioner, and now we have some stops where we have to have two nurses.”

Mend and Tend program

Mend and Tend was a drop-in wound care pilot project run by Providence Health Care from October 2023 to November 2024.

In a statement, PHC said there is no plan to reopen it, and that it showed many people needed hospital-level care.

“Wound care was consolidated at St. Paul’s Hospital for better continuity and safety,” the statement continued.

PHC added there’s no funding plan for a new Mend and Tend program.

When asked whether Vancouver Coastal Health would fund the request from front-line workers, the health authority did not provide an answer.

In a statement, the health authority said it operates a drop-in clinic at the Molson OPS site on East Hastings Street.

“The clinic provides low-barrier access to primary care, with most visits being for wound care,” the statement said.

VCH added there is also access to wound care for clients who are connected to VCH Community Health Centres and some access to wound care support at Insite, and mobile-based through Kílala Lelum.

‘This is a community that needs it’

Both Leitch and Edwards believe the Evelyne Saller Community Centre is the ideal location for a permanent wound care clinic, because it’s already a hub for the community.

At the centre, residents have access to shower, laundry and delousing services.

They said this integrated model could be replicated in other jurisdictions across the province.

“We really need to get back into that evidence-informed, equitable distribution of resources and allocation of resources,” Edward said. “And this is a community that needs it.”