Drive-in health clinic set up for Cape Bretoners affected by storm

Nova Scotia Health has set up a drive-in clinic to provide care for people in Cape Breton Regional Municipality affected by post-tropical storm Fiona.

The primary care clinic — the first of its kind in the province — is in a large trailer outfitted with a doctor's office at the end of Churchill Drive Extension, across Highway 125 from Membertou First Nation.

Chris Hillier, eastern zone director of clinical transformations, said the mobile clinic will help people without a family physician, or those whose doctor's office is closed due to the storm.

"Obviously, the power outages are affecting access to some primary health care," he said. "The other fact of the situation is that after a storm like this, people are roaming around in the dark in their houses. There's falls. There's sprains. People are getting bumped and bruised up a little bit clearing debris, so there is an increased patient load going to the [emergency rooms], as well."

Hillier said the mobile clinic has been in the works for some time and the plan is to make more of them available, eventually.

'Need in our community now'

"In ... future storms, future disasters, these units can be deployed to the area that they are needed the most and they may even become a little more routine to supplement existing health care in a particular area in the future, but this is definitely one of the first to set up here and it's due to our need in our community right now," he said.

"Our community is experiencing a lot of difficulties right now and this will help out with that a little bit."

The clinic, a partnership between Nova Scotia Health and ambulance provider Emergency Health Services, is staffed with nurse practitioners and a medic who can offer prescription renewals or treat things like sore throats, earaches, fever and other minor ailments.

Hillier said it is designed to help people who don't need to go to an urgent treatment centre or an emergency room.

The mobile clinic does not replace either of those health-care options.

Anyone needing immediate care is urged to call 911 or go to the regional hospital in Sydney.

"The ER is for urgent and emergent cases, for sure, but this will help our patients that maybe their doctor's office has had no power for the last week," Hillier said.

People can drive up to the clinic and register, get an appointment time and then wait around or leave and come back.

Officials hope to be able to treat up to 30 people a day.

The clinic is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. AT daily until Oct. 6 and will be open on Friday, which is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

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