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“I’d rather go see a doctor that I’ve known for a couple of years”
A GP for Me Chilliwack Primary Care Clinic (CPCC) Patient Story
A CPCC patient shares his experience about being a patient at the CPCC; how the care provided at the
CPCC improved his health, health outcomes and other areas of his life.
Meet Silas…
With urgent health needs, a family doctor who was retiring and no other doctor accepting new patients,
Silas came to the Chilliwack Primary Care Clinic (CPCC), located in the Chilliwack General Hospital,
seeking primary care services. A resident of Chilliwack, he was with the CPCC for three years. Recalling his
first visit there, he mentions feeling overwhelmed when entering the Chilliwack General Hospital to find
the clinic and expressed his appreciation for the support and guidance that the team at CPCC offered right
from the start. Community residents who are unattached and looking for a family doctor or nurse
practitioner can call the Patient Attachment Mechanism (PAM)
Receiving care at the CPCC
Specifically, Silas thought his first visit with the doctor at the CPCC went very well; he had over thirty
minutes with the doctor, typical for a first visit at the CPCC, which gave him ample time to discuss his
health history and needs in-depth. He said that longer appointments provided thorough care and allowed
his doctor to explain how his medications work, side effects and to let the CPCC team know if something is
not working. The set-up of the CPCC allows a doctor to book longer than average appointments (e.g. 1015 minutes) with patients if necessary, to thoroughly treat those who have complex health care needs.
Having received care from various primary care providers at the CPCC, Silas states that they were “all
fantastic”. He felt like they were all was on his side and provided great care. He attributes his positive
experience to the CPCC doctors and nurse practitioners that he felt looked after him so well, provided
thorough care, involved him in health care decisions and encouraged two-way communication, all of which
support quality patient care. Speaking on behalf of the CPCC health care team, his doctor at the clinic
points out that delivering the best health care for Silas was made easier by the fact that he was truly on
board and keen to work with the team.
Moreover, Silas credits the front office staff with being really nice and helpful, making his experience at
the CPCC even more pleasant. While he had been anxious about the extensive paperwork to be completed
for insurance, he shared that the staff and health care team were very supportive. The CPCC Medical
Office Assistant went the extra mile and helped him with medical forms and made a number of phone calls
on his behalf to resolve outstanding insurance issues – this provided him with a lot of relief.
Through enhanced capacity at the CPCC made possible by A GP for Me funding, a provincial initiative of
the Government of BC and Doctors of BC, the team was able to work on parallel health issues to provide
health care as quickly as possible. The nurse practitioner worked with Silas to manage his chronic
conditions like diabetes and offered much appreciated words of encouragement, while the CPCC doctor
worked on issues related to his body pain. Even with complex health care needs, the CPCC team is able to
match patients to primary care providers in the community, but asks them to be patient and cooperative
as the process can take some time. During this process, the team at the CPCC also simultaneously cares
for patients who are waiting to be attached to family doctors in the community, to help stabilize their
health and manage the medications they are on.
Speaking of the benefits of continuity of care that the CPCC offers, Silas shares “They (the health care
team at the CPCC) know me”; this enables them to have a deeper understanding of his medications and
the health care he needs. In the past, he saw multiple doctors due to his health conditions and he said
that re-explaining his health issues wastes the time he has with each doctor.
The CPCC health team kept thorough notes on Silas’ health needs and progress and did not ask him to reexplain his health condition; this efficiency has been well-received and is welcomed by both patients and
providers. It also allowed for more time during appointments to focus on health management and health
prevention. Reiterating his desire for continuous care, Silas adds “I’d rather go see a doctor that I’ve
known for a couple of years”, echoing one of the underpinning objectives of A GP for Me, to confirm and
strengthen the continuous doctor-patient relationship
Finding a family doctor in the community
Now that his health conditions (e.g. diabetes, back pain) are being managed so well, Silas has recently
been transitioned to a family practice in the community. This process has taken place as part of the
Chilliwack Division of Family Practice’s A GP for Me strategy, the Patient Attachment Mechanism (PAM).
Not only is he now attached to a family doctor in the community, care was taken to match Silas with a
doctor who focuses on his medical conditions and is able to provide him with quality care.
To support a smoother transition, Silas’ main CPCC doctor went out of her way to contact Silas’ new family
doctor to provide background on his health conditions so that Silas would not need to re-explain
everything about his medical conditions to his new doctor. The team at CPCC was supportive every step of
the way; they not only sent his new doctor a detailed health summary but also followed up with an indepth phone conversation to hand over Silas’ care efficiently. Silas said this not only made the meeting
with his new doctor more pleasant and less stressful, but also made him aware of the effort required to
match patients with a suitable primary care provider. Silas notes that any support that makes it easier for
this family doctor to care for him is good for him as a patient and is likely to strengthen their doctorpatient relationship
He is grateful the CPCC took him on as a patient or he likely would have needed to rely on walk-in clinics
or visit the Emergency Room to receive medical care. He enjoyed being a patient at the CPCC and hopes
that his story highlights how a continuous relationship with a primary health care provider is important for
ongoing care and well-being.
---If you do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner, and are living in a community from Chilliwack to
Boston Bar, please ‘call PAM’, the Chilliwack Division of Family Practice’s Patient Attachment Mechanism,
at: 604-795-0034 (for residents of Chilliwack, Agassiz, and Harrison) or toll-free at 1-844-795-0034 (for
residents of Hope and the Fraser Canyon).
* The patient’s name has been changed to protect his privacy. The patient has given permission to share
their interview responses in the form of an anonymous story and have reviewed the final story before it
was circulated.
---About the Chilliwack Primary Care Clinic
The Chilliwack Primary Care Clinic (CPCC) was opened in partnership with Fraser Health in 2012 to provide
support to unattached patients by offering follow up care to them once they were discharged from
Chilliwack General Hospital. The CPCC also focuses on providing ongoing primary care for vulnerable and
complex patients, including those with mental health needs, whose health conditions would be optimally
managed in an interdisciplinary setting. Using A GP for Me resources, the Chilliwack Division of Family
Practice is leveraging the CPCC to act as a site to stabilize and transition unattached patients into the
community, and provide additional supports for those vulnerable and complex patients that are better
suited to remain with the interdisciplinary CPCC team, which includes family doctors, nurse practitioners,
and a mental health clinician. The CPCC’s capacity is currently being enhanced through A GP for Me
Initiative funding (to March 2016).