November 29, 2022
Since 2009, the HIM on Davie Health Centre has been a central site for our communities to access the sexual health services we need. In partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) clinicians and allied health professionals, the Davie Health Centre has delivered an average of 788 sexual health appointments a month this calendar year (not including phone consult or appointments with the physicians that sometimes work out of the Davie Health Centre). Although we’ve found creative ways to increase capacity year to year, no health service is perfect. The Davie Health Centre is no exception: we simply have not been able to meet community demand for sexual health services and are having to turn away nearly 300 clients a month.
Over the next several months, HIM and VCH are implementing a project to address the high number of client turnaways. We will test several different changes, analyze what worked or didn’t work about them, and adopt the changes that are most impactful (and appropriate). We’re going to test changes both in the HIM Health Centres and components related to the Health Centres: the language on HIM’s website, the ways appointment bookings work, the HIM phone line, etc. We will proactively communicate major changes being tested in the newsletter, the HIM website, and/or HIM social media.
HIM is a small organization with a big footprint. As with all of our work, we need your help to ensure the success of this project. If you have ideas on how we can minimize turnaways or improve patient experience in the HIM Health Centres share them with us using this anonymous form. Know that all your input will be read by HIM and our VCH partners (including me personally) and considered.
Lastly, we ask that you be patient with us as we implement this project and, more importantly, our invaluable community volunteers and VCH partners without whom HIM’s sexual health services would not be possible. This process will be challenging and at times frustrating. However, we owe it to you to make changes and innovations that will help us better serve the health needs of our communities.
Simon Rayek
Director, Health Administration
