A long-planned health care project in Sooke is moving from the drawing board to the construction site. Building permits have now been approved for a new urgent and primary care centre at 2101 Sitka Court, with site preparation and early work expected to begin soon. The centre will be part of a six-storey development that will combine health-care services with residential housing. The project is a partnership between the District of Sooke, Catalyst Community Developments, Island Health and BC Housing’s BC Builds program. Once complete, the urgent and primary care centre will be owned and operated by Island Health. “By bringing health care and housing together on one site, we are creating a community asset shaped by needs. This milestone reflects years of patience, advocacy and partnership. It will help residents access care closer to home while providing rental homes for people and families. We have carried this vision with unwavering commitment, and now we are ready to build,” Sooke Mayor Maja Tait said in a statement. The centre, being built on land provided by the District of Sooke, doesn’t yet have an opening date. Island Health board chair Leah Hollins said the project will serve people in Sooke and surrounding communities. “By bringing together physicians, nurses and allied health professionals in one location, we can help patients receive timely, team-based care and strengthen access to primary care in a growing community,” Hollins said. The new facility will add to existing health-care services in the region, including West Coast Family Medical Clinic. Juan de Fuca-Malahat MLA Dana Lajeunesse said Sooke’s population growth has increased demand for health-care services. “The Sooke Region is experiencing continual growth and we need to ensure that we match the increasing needs for health care services close to home,” Lajeunesse said. “Once open, the UPCC will complement the exemplary services already in place, thanks to the team at West Coast Family Medical Clinic, and will bring meaningful change to the thousands of residents of the region who do not have timely access to primary care.” The province estimates the urgent and primary care centre will require approximately $8 million in capital funding. The province says 48 urgent and primary care centres have opened across B.C. since 2018, including 12 on Vancouver Island. Those centres have recorded almost five million visits, according to the Ministry of Health, about 22,000 visits each week. The province is also highlighting its efforts to expand the health-care workforce. More than 700 U.S.-based health-care providers have accepted jobs in B.C. through the province’s recruitment campaign, including 171 physicians, 445 nurses, 78 nurse practitioners and 44 allied health professionals. The Sooke project is part of B.C.’s broader primary-care strategy. The province says one million people have been connected to a family doctor or nurse practitioner since the strategy launched in 2018. For a community that has been waiting years for the project to move forward, the approval marks a shift from planning to construction.
