The MHA for CBS is defending government’s decision to build a third urgent care clinic on the northeast Avalon, despite problems staffing two other clinics in the region.
The province is considering The Gateway in CBS as the location for the new facility.
The first clinic in the capital city’s east end opened to the public last year, but has had to close on numerous occasions because of staffing issues.
Urgent Care Clinic West (VOCM News)
The second clinic, scheduled to open in Mount Pearl last fall, continues to sit idle due to a lack of staff, however the walk-in clinic previously at Mundy Pond will be moved into the facility until staffing can be sorted out.
CBS MHA Barry Petten wonders if the Mount Pearl facility should have been built in the first place.
“I’m beginning to wonder what happened there,” he told reporters.
“I don’t know if it should have ever been built”
Questions have been raised about opening a new urgent care clinic in CBS when the other two are not fully staffed. Petten says government is working on the problem.
“So as you can tell, I’m very adamant that that’s where it belongs,”
“You’ve got to have a plan in place for staffing and construction. And we’re committed to doing just that.”
“That will actually work much better than what you have right now in St. John’s, because you go into those emergency rooms, the vast majority of those people are from outside the metro area and CBS and Holyrood area.”
