New OEV clinic brings obstetrics care to vulnerable London women

A new part-time obstetrics clinic is up and running in London's Old East Village, aimed at filling a local health care gap that keeps the city's most vulnerable from accessing the vital pregnancy treatment that they need.

The clinic opened earlier this month at the Dundas Street location of London InterCommunity Health Centre (LIHC), in partnership with London Health Sciences Centre, which donated two ultrasound units for the clinic.

Two obstetrician-gynecologists and a family medicine obstetrician will staff the clinic on a rotational basis, with care provided to patients two days per week. 

Among them is Dr. Laura Lyons, the medical director of family medicine obstetrics at the hospital, who says her department has been taking obstetrics referrals from medical staff at Old East health centre for years. 

"We identified (there are) a lot of barriers for women attending appointments. Barriers due to transportation issues, financial issues, mental health issues. Also, just a safety issue of women feeling comfortable to go to different health care facility," she said.

The solution: meeting patients where they're at and providing obstetrics services in a medical setting they are already familiar and comfortable with. Dr. Genevieve Eastabrook and Dr. Janine Hutson are the other two medical professionals involved with the clinic.

"They can do ultrasound imaging that can monitor and assess for a number of conditions that might be affecting the fetus," Lyons said. Patients needing care that exceeds what's available at the centre would go to the hospital for further treatment.

Currently, clinics are scheduled every two weeks, so patients who need to be seen more frequently could have their care alternated between visits at the clinic and visits at the hospital, she said.

The challenges that London's marginalized population faces in accessing health care services is not new, said Greg Nash, a director at the health centre. For women who are pregnant, that might mean going weeks and even months without prenatal care.

"Then, because of the complications that sometimes happen when people are experiencing mental health or homelessness or substance use disorder, that care is more complex," he said.

"For folks that haven't had positive health outcomes with the health care they've received in the past, this is really a trust-building exercise, and a reintegration back into a very strong health care system."

There is no additional cost for anybody in operating the new clinic, he adds. The plan is to operate the clinic indefinitely, said Brad Campbell, corporate hospital administrative executive with the London Health Sciences Centre.

"We intend to participate in these types of initiatives on several levels -- ongoing. We don't see it as a one-and-done, or time-limited... this is intended to be part of our new operating model," he said.

As of now, few patients have come into the clinic, something Lyons attributes to a lack of awareness as word of mouth continues to spread.

"We do know in our addiction community that there's about 30 women at any one time, that are pregnant, that need care... it's going to be interesting to see just how the numbers evolve," she said.