South End home to new flu clinic

(11) Comments | Print | Report a typo | Contact the Editor
A flu clinic has been opened in the South End, as part of a joint initiative between the city of Greater Sudbury, North East Community Care Access Centre, Sudbury & District Health Unit, and the Sudbury Regional Hospital. The clinic only deals with flu-like symptoms, and does not act as a normal walk-in clinic.

A flu clinic has been opened in the South End, as part of a joint initiative between the city of Greater Sudbury, North East Community Care Access Centre, Sudbury & District Health Unit, and the Sudbury Regional Hospital. The clinic only deals with flu-like symptoms, and does not act as a normal walk-in clinic.

Nov 11, 2009- 8:32 AM

By: Sudbury Northern Life Staff

There is now an alternative to the emergency room for those with flu symptoms, who are unable to see a doctor or head in to a walk-in clinic.

The Community Flu Assessment Centre (FAC) is a joint community response of the city of Greater Sudbury, Sudbury & District Health Unit, North East Community Care Access Centre, and the Sudbury Regional Hospital.

It is opened between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m., seven days a week, and is located in the South End at the intersection of Long Lake Road and Regent Street, between Hakim Optical and the Bank of Montreal.

For people with influenza-like illnesses (ILI), the clinic provides an alternative to walk-in clinics of family physicians, while taking the strain off the emergency department at the Sudbury regional hospital.

The FAC is staffed by physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and other support staff.

The FAC is not a normal walk-in clinic, and those without ILI will be turned away. The FAC serves as an assessment and treatment of influenza symptoms only, and no medication will be dispensed at the FAC. Doctors and nurses will provide advice for those with influenza-like illnesses only. It is not a vaccination clinic, and does not test for H1N1.

Read More: Home > Sudbury News
(11) Comments | Print | Report a typo | Contact the Editor

Reader's Feedback

Editor’s Note:

NorthernLife.ca may contain content submitted by readers, usually in the form of article comments. All reader comments and any opinions, advice, statements or other information contained in any messages posted or transmitted by any third party are the responsibility of the author of that message and not of NorthernLife.ca. The fact that a particular message is posted on or transmitted using this web site does not mean that NorthernLife.ca has endorsed that message in any way or verified the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message. We encourage visitors to NorthernLife.ca to report any objectionable content by using the "report abuse" link found in the comments section of this web site.

11 Comments

  • MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/13/2009 8:30:01 PM - Report Abuse

    We should take care not to make education and intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality. Education and intellect are man's instrument for arriving at the truth, sensationalist media coverage is man's instrument for manipulating the world more to suit ones self; the former is essentially human, the latter belongs to the animal part of man. Welcome to the jungle Oscar.

  • Outskirts Oscar 11/13/2009 7:31:57 PM - Report Abuse

    We need more educated, not so-sensationalist media coverage.

    But then again, EDUCATED and MEDIA ... go figure that one! LOL

  • MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/11/2009 1:34:51 PM - Report Abuse

    If these healthcare teams are volunteers (FAC), surely some will appreciate their service. Its unlikely athe FAC will be prescribing/dispensing hard drugs for flu like symptoms...but ya never know these days....im sure some will try.

  • MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/11/2009 1:29:44 PM - Report Abuse

    Pandemic? More like misinformation...Most people who have become ill with H1N1 virus have recovered without requiring medical treatment. Most rapid tests cannot distinguish which influenza virus is responsible for the persons illness. And, Influenza tests can occasionally give false positive and false negative results so it's possible that one of the test results were incorrect. This is more likely to happen when the diagnosis is made with the rapid flu tests. The symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus in people include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, including 2009 H1N1 and have respiratory symptoms without a fever. Young children are at high risk of serious complications from 2009 H1N1, just as they are from regular or seasonal flu. Getting infected with any influenza virus, including 2009 H1N1, will cause your body to develop immune resistance to that virus.... so it's not likely that a person would be infected with the identical influenza virus more than once. Failure to develop anti bodies leaves you dependand on government vaccine programs. About 70 percent of people who have been hospitalized with this 2009 H1N1 virus have had one or more medical conditions previously recognized as placing people at “high risk” of serious seasonal flu-related complications. This includes pregnancy, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and kidney disease. What happens if the government decided not to vaccinate anymore or the virus mutated? While most people who have been sick have recovered without needing medical treatment, hospitalizations and deaths from infection with the regular flu and H1N1 have occurred. Soo...thats why we have "assessment" centers. Education centers would be better. The percentage of mistakes in quick decisions is no greater than in long-drawn-out vacillation. If these healthcare teams are volunteers (

  • skndstry 11/11/2009 12:27:33 PM - Report Abuse

    So, you suggest people utilize some common sense in bringing a child to the ER when it is clear you can't manage the symptoms at home - that is exactly what the hospital has said you should do.

    What makes no sense is you said you "might have gone to a clinic." So what the hell is your point then anyway? You could also have brought them to this FAC, because obviously that is all they'll be doing. In other words, you probably get in and get treated more quickly. By your own account, this clinic would have saved you a lot of time.

    Was your kid admitted? Because if not, guess what? This clinic probably could have done the same thing the Emerg did.

    You don't run to the ER at the first whiff of a problem, so most kids could easily be seen at this flu clinic. Therefore, saying this clinic is useless was dead wrong.

    Second - regardless of who the doctor was who diagnosed you, you DON'T know if you had H1N1 without a test. Period. So you can be as confident as you like, but you don't know for sure. You could have had another flu, meaning you could still get H1N1. So don't let down your guard.

    Dispensed and prescribed is NOT a technicality. They are completely different things. And you and another poster assumed that because they won't hand you a freebie at this clinic, that you wouldn't get anything for your flu. I was commenting on that false assumption.

    I don't really care if you didn't like my tone - what you really didn't like is being wrong, wrong, and wrong again.

  • losinghope 11/11/2009 12:26:52 PM - Report Abuse

    I think it's sad that they are no longer testing for H1N1 as it is in fact the flu season and there is more than just H1N1 out there. I wonder how many people the doctors have told had the H1N1 flu when they actually didn't just because they had flu like symptoms. How many people aren't going to get vaccinated because they were told they had H1N1?

  • Share the Wealth_1 11/11/2009 11:51:13 AM - Report Abuse

    In a small child skndstry, H1N1 can quickly become an emergency and the hospital is the best place for that child in my opinion. I was advised by hospital emergency staff to bring my child to the emergency room rather than wait for call backs from doctors, clinics, telehealth, health unit.

    If the south end clinic was open at the time, maybe I would have gone there first, but not if the child was so sick, and so lethargic and with the high fevers that I could not control with over the counter meds. If he had severe breathing symtoms, or dehydration I would go straight to emergency at the hospital also.

    When I was at the hospital with my 5 year old, he was diagnosed with H1N1 by a compentent and experience doctor. He did not have the blood test, but the doctor said he had treated many people who had been tested with and diagnosed with the H1N1 and my child had all of the same symptoms, which lead this doctor to feel quite confident in the diagnosis of H1N1 in my child.

    Addtionally, though you may be correct in that the clinics do not dispense meds as opposed to the fact that they do possibly perscribe meds, this is a mere technicality.

    Yes, The doctors at the clinic prescribe medications, and sometimes they also have "dispensed" non narcotic medications to people with no drug plan, giving them samples they have on hand from the pharmaseudical companies.

    You needn't be so rude and sanctimonious in your posts, which served no other purpose other than to berate, or insult people you do not even know, how pathetic is that?

  • skndstry 11/11/2009 10:02:53 AM - Report Abuse

    It says they don't DISPENSE drugs. Neither does a walk-in clinic or family doctor. Big difference between dispense and prescribe. Maybe you ought to check a dictionary before commenting.

    The ER won't tell you for sure if you have H1N1 either, because they aren't testing for it. So both options are simply giving you their best guess.

    This will give people an option if they have flu symptoms, and leave the ER for people with REAL EMERGENCIES! If yours is, it sounds like this flu center will tell you that. If it isn't, you haven't waited for hours and hours to find that out.

    Maybe you should all slow down and think before you write.

  • Share the Wealth_1 11/11/2009 9:29:08 AM - Report Abuse

    It would be a great idea save for the fact that according to all the restrictions laid out in this article, the center is actually only an extention of the triage center at the hospital, and serves no usefull purpose. How is a worried parent or other person to know whether their sypmptoms are cold, flu, influenza, meningitis etc. The whole reason they are going to the clinic or emergency in the first place is to find out if what they have is H1N1. Most people hate going to hospital in the first place and wont go unless they are really ill, or the child is very sick and or has a high fever which H1N1 indicates along with other symptoms. Then they say that they will not treat anyone without influenza symptoms, so that means most people wont go there anyway because they dont want to be turned away, they may as well go straight to emergency or walk in clinic where they will be treated and diagnosed no matter what they have, and they will be given medication if needed. The H1N1 clinic in the south end wont perscribe medication? wont treat anythng but influenza and we have to figure out if that is what we have before we go there and find our what we have? I waited on the phone with telehealth for two hours last week, and then health unit for a half hour and called the walk in clinic and got only answering machines.......when my five year old had a 104 fever and not responsive to tylenol for kids. I called hospital emergency and they told me I may as well bring him in to hospital and be sure he will be seen and diagnosed quicker since I am waiting on phones or for doctor to call me back, I could be at hospital and he would be triaged there and Id likely feel better knowing he would be cared for. I was at emerg for 2 and a half hours only, and he was diagnosed with H1N1 and I was informed how to take care of him. He is now well and back at school.

  • A.J. from Wanup 11/11/2009 9:21:45 AM - Report Abuse

    It would make sense if physician also wrote TAMIFLU RX for patient who has clearly FLU symptoms !

  • No.One 11/11/2009 8:44:03 AM - Report Abuse

    This makes so much sense in a pandemic, smart thinking.
FacebookTwitterRSSVideophotoNewsletterMobile