A new primary care clinic opened on Kamloops' North Shore today Friday, March 3, 2017.

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KAMLOOPS - A brand new primary care clinic opened today on the North Shore, and with the shortage of family doctors in Kamloops, it couldn't have happened a moment sooner.

With the opening of this clinic, select patients already on the waitlist for a family doctor will have access to healthcare professionals.

Interior Health officials along with local MLAs Terry Lake and Todd Stone opened the Interior Health Primary Care Services clinic on Tranquille Road today, March 3. The new clinic is located on the first floor of the North Shore Health Science Centre.

Five of the six nurse practitioners will start right away and recruitment for family doctors has already begun, according to a release from the Interior Health Authority.

“When people are sick, they are often at their most vulnerable and I am very excited to be a part of an initiative that promises to have a positive impact on these patients by improving their access to health care,” Lorraine Lines, nurse practitioner and soon-to-be clinic staffer, says in the release.

Nurse practitioners and family doctors at the clinic will provide day-to-day primary health care which includes illness prevention and health information, interventions for illness and injury, primary reproductive care, early detection and ongoing treatment of chronic illnesses, care for the majority of illnesses and offering referral to specialists if required and education and supports for self-care.

“The opening of this clinic represents a great day for Kamloops residents who have been seeking a constant provider for their primary care needs," Interior Health Board Chair John O’Fee says in the release. "These highly trained nurse practitioners will help ease the pressure for those people without a family doctor or nurse practitioner.”

Another primary care site for adults over 65 years old is set to open at Northills Centre in April.

Six nurse practitioners will work at the new primary care clinic opened on Kamloops' North Shore.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/IHA

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News from © iNFOnews, 2017