Dalhousie's walk-in clinic remains closed without definitive reopening date

The Restigouche region's only walk-in clinic will not reopen this week as expected.

The clinic at the St. Joseph Community Health Centre in Dalhousie closed its doors at the end of January in response to a staffing shortage. At the time, the Vitalité Health Network said the temporary closure would only last a month.

But this week, it remained closed with no clear timeline on if or when the clinic will start taking patients again. 

Dalhousie Mayor Normand Pelletier said residents without a primary care provider or facing long waits for an appointment don't know where to turn to.

"They're extremely disappointed, they're scared," he said. "They don't know where they're going to go for medical help in Restigouche County anymore."

Residents held a protest last month calling on the health authority to improve recruitment of health care providers. At the time of the clinic's closure, only two out of six physician positions were filled – with one doctor on leave.

The Vitalité Health Network has not announced a new reopening date.

Spokesperson Thomas Lizotte said all other services at the community health centre, including a collaborative practice and ambulatory services, remain available to patients. 

"Discussions are still ongoing with the Department of Health to ensure strategic alignment with the new Health Plan," Thomas wrote in an email.

There are 4,200 patients with a regular primary care provider at the collaborative practice.

In an interview last month, Jacques Duclos, vice-president of community services and mental health, said family physicians found the workload of the walk-in clinic "unsustainable" because it took away from the collaborative practice.

He said discussions are focused on rethinking the primary care model, spurred by the province's new health plan and improvements to virtual care.

WATCH / Closure of only walk-in clinic has aging community worried

Dalhousie's only walk-in clinic closes amid 'major crisis' in staffing

3 years ago

Duration 3:03

Residents are calling on the Vitalité Health Network to improve recruitment of doctors and nurses for the Restigouche region.

Restigouche County has one of the province's oldest populations and is facing a significant shortage of 13 primary care providers. Without the clinic, residents have been waiting at the emergency room at the Campbellton Regional Hospital, or driving an hour south to Bathurst.

Pelletier said town council and the regional service commission have heard no updates on recruitment since the demonstration. Now, he's requesting a meeting with Health Minister Dorothy Shepard to ask for increased control locally.

"Probably we'd be better served under Horizon," he said.

During the pandemic, the clinic had shifted to an appointment-only model. Patients could no longer just show up and instead needed to call in to get a spot.