Island Sexual Health is closing its West Shore clinic as of Sept. 25. The clinic currently runs at the View Royal Square at 108-284 Helmcken Rd. on Tuesday evenings.
Island Sexual Health Society executive director Bobbi Turner said numbers were dropping at the View Royal location, especially with those under 19 years of age able to go to the clinic at Belmont secondary school.
With more flexible hours at the Fort Street location, Turner said it make sense for clients to use the services there.
“It’s kind of a combination of things but we just realized that location, it just really didn’t work, it really didn’t fit for clients,” Turner said. “It really just makes sense to try and make sure that the one location is cohesive and can meet all of our client needs.”
Getting physicians for satellite clinics can also be challenging, said Turner, and the services a clinic can offer are limited with no physician on duty.
Existing clients 19 years of age and older will have services transferred to Island Sexual Health’s Fort Street location. Clients under 19 years of age can access the services at Belmont.
The Belmont school clinic will be running throughout the school year on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is open to all students enrolled in School District 62.
Funding for the clinic was secured for the year and the society is looking at ways to establish stable funding to keep the service going in the future. Money came from a number of sources for this year, including the United Way, Telus and West Shore RCMP Community Policing.
“It’s looking pretty positive,” Turner said.