Surrey opens first city-supported medical clinic

Surrey has opened its first city-supported medical clinic, with the Total Life Care Surrey City Centre clinic set to prioritize Surrey residents who need a family doctor.

The clinic begins with three family doctors from the United Kingdom and plans to employ 10 physicians. Dr. Karan Grewal of TLC Medical Clinics said the expansion is intended to help people who have struggled to find a family doctor and to ease pressure on hospitals and emergency departments.

Mayor Brenda Locke said the city will provide $100,000 a year to cover the clinic’s space costs. A revenue-sharing arrangement agreed to in principle would return five per cent of the clinic’s net revenue to the city annually.

Locke said Surrey has about 59 family doctors per 100,000 residents, less than half Vancouver’s rate. While health care is not normally a municipal responsibility, she said the city could not wait for other solutions. She said the city consulted groups including the Surrey North Delta Division of Family Practice and Doctors of BC before proceeding.

Coun. Linda Annis questioned using municipal funds for a clinic she said could compete with existing practices. She suggested the city could instead help current clinics through measures such as property-tax incentives or faster tenant-improvement approvals.

Dr. Alexander Weinberg of TLC Medical Clinics said the operation will not recruit doctors from other clinics and is focusing on candidates from outside B.C. and Canada. Under Surrey’s Community Medical Clinics Initiative, the city plans 10 clinics at about $100,000 each per year; a second clinic is expected to open in Newton this fall.