Health care hits the highway: Mobile clinics planned to ease patient access

Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services is planning to roll out mobile clinics that can go on the road, wherever they are needed.

The provincial health authority has issued a request for proposals for three recreational vehicles that can be converted into mobile clinics.

The aim is reduce pressure on hospital emergency rooms, says Melissa Coish, senior director of primary health care and community services for N.L. Health Services' eastern urban zone.

"The intent of the of the units is really to be able to respond to the needs of the community," Coish said, such as "places where access to primary health care is limited."

Coish added that the mobile clinics could swiftly respond to outbreaks of respiratory viruses or deliver vaccines, "meeting people exactly where they are."

Coish says the authority is looking for three RVs or large vans that can accommodate medical equipment and a staff of primary-care physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses.

"We are looking for a unit that has capability to have multiple compartments," she said. "So we'll be able to do, you know, things like blood work, mental health counselling in one area of the RV, and we'll have an exam table in the other."

The authority would like to have the mobile clinics up and running in the spring or summer, with the hope of adding more mobile clinics to operate across the province.

Initially, officials wanted to buy fully kitted mobile clinics but learned there was a wait-list of two years. 

"We went quickly to a Plan B, got creative and were able to find other jurisdictions that use RVs," she said. "So we've gone to RFP for those those units to be able to retrofit them now into mobile clinics.… It's a shift, somewhat, but we're excited." 

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.