Mobile Primary Healthcare Teams
The Strengthening Primary Care program brought together 20 teams of primary care providers, organizations and communities from northern, rural and remote communities across Canada to improve access to primary care.
- Topics
- Primary and community care
- First Nations, Inuit and Métis priorities
- Cultural Safety
- Audience
Healthcare leader
Community organization
Point of care provider
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With support from the program, the teams introduced promising practices — approaches that improved access to safe, including culturally safe, team-based primary care — by meeting the unique needs of communities, patients and providers while encouraging collaboration and shared learning across Canada. One of the 20 teams (Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services) advanced five unique promising practices to respond to the needs of people and providers throughout their province.
About this Promising Practice
People living in rural communities within Newfoundland and Labrador experience barriers accessing team-based primary care, due to transportation challenges and/or lack of a family doctor or care team. Deploy mobile clinics to provide in-person team-based healthcare including chronic disease prevention and management, health system navigation, and mental health and addictions services (e.g., opioid dependency treatment and counselling). The mobile health clinics operate one weekend a month from two communities (Baie Verte and New-Wes Valley) and provide services for people living in 40 small communities. The mobile clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and social workers. Patients call to book an appointment and can access the services whether they are attached to a primary care provider or not.
Program: Strengthening Access to Primary Care in Northern, Rural and Remote Communities
Location: Labrador & Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador