A new medical clinic for 12,500 patients is set to open in Langford by 2026.
Goldstream Medical Clinic, a partnership between the city, South Island Primary Care Society and Langford Freemasons, will include 10 new doctors and nurse practitioners.
The city approved $1.7 million during an in-camera meeting June 10 to refurbish commercial space in the Westshore Masonic Centre on Bryn Maur Road, plus the provision of medical equipment, fixtures and furniture.
The clinic will open with five doctors already attached, providing welcome relief to some of the many residents currently unattached to a doctor, which Mayor Scott Goodmanson said is estimated to be around 27,000 on the West Shore.
“We are part of the solution, and today, Langford is stepping up to do its part,” he said. “People have been waiting far too long for a doctor.”
While he feels the provision of doctors is not a “municipal endeavour”, Goodmanson said he has been determined to tackle the shortage since his election.
Alongside ongoing work to open the new clinic, the city also leased space at City Hall to the South Island Primary Care Society in 2024 for $1 to allow up to three doctors to practice.
“I can’t overstate how excellent this is for the city,” he said.
The work is not over, says the mayor. “It's not enough, we still need more doctors, more clinics in the area.”
But for now, Langford has no ambitions yet to follow in the City of Colwood’s footsteps and open its own municipally owned and run medical clinic.
In addition to the funding, the city has also offered temporary accommodations for doctors, the consideration of a Permissive Tax Exemption and marketing assistance for ongoing doctor recruitment.
News of the new clinic was warmly welcomed by other Langford councillors.
“What a day in Langford,” said Coun. Lillian Szpak. “I guess it sounds trivial, but it isn’t, to say it's like winning a lottery when you have a doctor. How did we ever get there?
“The province and Canada have been in a health-care crisis, so here we are today to tell Langford residents and West Shore residents, hundreds of them, you now have won the lottery. You're going to have a family doctor.”
The new medical will be owned and operated by the South Island Primary Care Society, who have been working tirelessly for the past 18 months to improve health care access in Greater Victoria.
They have taken over two clinics that were at risk of closing, and opened an urgent care unit and the Colwood Family Practice, which has four doctors.
Alyssa Andres, director of the South Island Primary Care Society, described the $1.7 million boost from Langford as an extraordinary gift, saying it will "move our work faster and provide care in our community.”
“With additional contributions from the Westshore Charity Golf Tournament and private donors, this initiative is expected to address approximately 50 per cent of the current family physician shortage in the West Shore,” said Dr. Spencer Cleave of the South Island Primary Care Society.
While the city's funding marks a "significant stride forward" in addressing the shortage of family doctors in the West Shore, the city says fundraising efforts are still required for South Island Primary Care Society. More information about how to help can be found on the website: southislandprimarycaresociety.ca/donate.
