Where to get care

If you feel your situation requires immediate care or is life threatening:

• Visit your local emergency department
• Call 911 from any telephone to get connected to emergency service providers in B.C. (including ambulance, police and fire), or if you're in doubt about whether you are experiencing a medical emergency

Some examples of when you should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department for medical care are:

• Chest pain or tightness
• Choking or breathing difficulties
• Loss of consciousness
• Signs of a heart attack or stroke
• Severe burns
• Convulsions that are not stopping
• A drowning
• A severe allergic reaction
• A serious head injury
• Major bleeding
• Broken bones
• Extreme pain
• New or sudden confusion

Visit an Urgent and Primary Care Centre (UPCC) if you require attention within 12-24 hours and you:

• Do not have a family health-care provider or cannot get an appointment with your regular health-care provider
• Your regular health-care provider operates out of the UPCC

In a crisis, call one of these support lines:

• Interior Crisis Line: 1-888-353-2273 (CARE)
• KUU-US Crisis Line (toll free): 1-800-588-8717
• Métis Crisis Line: 1-833-638-4722
• Kids Help Line for mental health supports: 1-800-668-6868

Call 310-MHSU during regular business hours to connect with MHSU services in your community. You can also talk to specialists in substance use medicine and clinical counsellors through our virtual substance use and psychiatric services.

Support for First Nation people is available by calling 1-855-344-3800 to book an appointment to connect to your health and wellness provider, or the First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day. Medical office assistants are available 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. seven days a week.

If you are unsure about your health-care needs and are seeking non-urgent professional health information and advice, contact HealthLink via phone (8-1-1) or visit HealthLinkBC.ca and use their Interactive Symptom Checker.

HealthLink can provide a confidential connection to a health services navigator, a registered nurse, a registered dietitian, a qualified exercise professional, or a pharmacist.

Your health-care provider is your first point of contact with the health-care system. Providers include your doctor or nurse practitioner.

If you live in B.C. and need a health-care provider, register for the Health Connect Registry.

If you are a First Nation person in B.C. without a health-care provider, call 1-855-344-3800 to book an appointment with the First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day program. Medical office assistants are available to help you seven days per week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

If you need help with an existing prescription, need a new prescription for a minor ailment, or need contraception, speak to your pharmacist. Your pharmacist can play a key role in prescription management.

For most prescriptions, your pharmacist can:

• Prescribe for minor ailments and contraception
• Renew your prescription
• Adjust the dose or the timing for how you take or use your medication
• Change the formulation of your medication (for example, from a tablet to a capsule or a liquid)
• Substitute your medication for a different but similar medication

For information regarding First Nation Health Authority (FNHA) benefits (Plan W), see the provincial over the counter (OTC) medications list, or view the FNHA page: First Nations Health Benefits: Over-the-Counter Medications.

There are two ways to get OTC medications covered by Plan W:

• A prescription from a doctor or nurse practitioner
• A recommendation from a pharmacist

Pharmacists can't renew or change cancer chemotherapy prescriptions. They also can’t change a prescription for narcotics and controlled drugs. Pharmacists can renew a prescription for narcotics and controlled drugs, but not for more than the quantity originally prescribed.

If you're experiencing side effects or having trouble taking your medication, ask your pharmacist for advice. If possible, talk to your family doctor or nurse practitioner first about problems with your medication.

Your pharmacy will have access to your prescription records history. You can also access your health records by using the Health Gateway app.

Most pharmacies also provide seasonal immunizations (influenza and COVID-19)

We believe the best quality of life is achieved by remaining in one’s own home environment for as long as possible. A care manager through Home and Community Care services can complete an assessment and help you explore options that will allow you to manage in your home. You can refer yourself, or someone else.

Call 1-800-707-8550 to learn more

Home, with appropriate supports, is the best place to live safely and independently, recover from illness and injury, manage chronic conditions, and live out final days. We provide a variety of at-home and community health-care services to people with acute, chronic, palliative and rehabilitative health-care needs to help them remain safe and independent in their homes.

We are also able to provide respite services.

There are government funded programs that provide help, such as light cleaning and yard work, assistance with grocery shopping, transportation and friendly visits.

When you are no longer able to live at home with assistance safely and independently, your local Home and Community Care office is available to assist you with options.

Access to long-term care services is based on a person’s assessed need and risk. Long-term care is for adults with complex health care needs requiring 24-hour professional care due to physical disability, or mental or behavioural conditions, including brain injuries or dementia. Priority is given to those with the highest need and greatest risk.

Respite for caregivers is available through Adult Day Services, and Home and Community Care clinicians can help with caregiver burden in the home and/or arrange respite temporarily within care facilities.

Better at Home provides non-medical supports to help seniors remain at home longer. Other resources are available. Contact the Family Caregivers of B.C. to learn more.

If you want to provide feedback about your care, you can talk to your:

• Care provider or their manager: If you have questions or concerns about your care, please talk about it with the person who cared for you, or the site manager, at the time and place it happens. 
• Patient Care Quality Office (PCQO): If you feel uncomfortable talking to your care provider or their manager, or you’re unhappy with how your concerns were handled, you can talk to the Patient Care Quality Office. We’re here to help resolve care quality concerns. You can also share positive feedback about your care and the health-care system. Reach the PCQO at 1-877-442-2001 or via email through its webform or at PCQO@interiorhealth.ca.

If you identify as Indigenous, you may choose to speak to an Indigenous PCQO consultant. Consultants help health-care providers provide culturally safe care to Indigenous patients and clients, and their supports.

Indigenous Patient Navigators (IPNs) support Indigenous Persons accessing Interior Health services by providing a link between the patient or client, family, community and health-care provider. IPNs assist the care team with discharge planning and providing culturally safe and inclusive care. IPNs work in some hospitals, Urgent Primary Care Centres, and mental health and substance use settings.

Where to get care

Indigenous health

Emergency department vs. Urgent Primary Care Centre

HealthLink BC

Pharmacy

Home Care

Mental Health and substance use