Content Map Terms
Last updated: July 6, 2023
The Victoria Primary Care Network (PCN) team is working with local clinics to help connect people to a primary care provider, either a family doctor or nurse practitioner. This includes people living in the following communities:
- Downtown Victoria
- Fairfield
- Fernwood
- Gordon Head
- Interurban
- James Bay
- Oak Bay
- Oaklands
- Quadra
- Shelbourne
- Swan Lake
- Tillicum
- Vic West
You can visit the Western Communities or Saanich Peninsula community pages to learn more about the Registry if you live in those regions.
If you live in B.C. and need a primary care provider, you can register for the Health Connect Registry. You can also register your family members or a person in your care.
To register, you’ll need to provide your Personal Health Number, B.C. home address and contact information.
Once registered, you will be contacted directly when a primary care provider is available.
Please note: Access to a family physician or nurse practitioner in Victoria is limited by the number of providers with capacity to accept new patients. At this time, we cannot offer a specific timeframe for attachment to a family doctor or nurse practitioner. While we work on solutions to ensure everyone has access to a family physician or nurse practitioner, we appreciate your patience.
Registering with the Health Connect Registry helps to coordinate your connection to a family doctor or nurse practitioner when one becomes available. It also helps highlight the number of people currently without a provider which informs current primary care planning.
If you do not have a family physician or nurse practitioner, there are many local resources available to you while you wait to be attached.
Emergency or Immediate Care
If you have a medical emergency, call 9-1-1 or go to your closest emergency department.
- Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH): 250-370-8000, 1952 Bay St Victoria, B.C. V8R 1J8
- Victoria General Hospital (VGH): 250-727-4212, 1 Hospital Way Victoria, B.C. V8Z 6R5
- BC Drug and Poison Information Centre: 1-800-567-8911
Walk-In Clinics
Check current wait times and location on Medimap.
Urgent Prescription Refills
Pharmacists can help you with an emergency prescription. Visit the HealthLink BC Directory to a find a pharmacy near you.
Other Urgent Supports
- Vancouver Island Crisis Line: 1-888-494-3888
- Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868
- KUU-US Crisis Line Society: 250-723-4050
- Metis Crisis Line: 1-833-638-4722
- First Nations Health Authority Virtual Doctor of the Day:1-855-344-3800
- Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre of British Columbia: 1-800-784-2433
Mental Health & Substance Use Services
- Victoria Mental Health & Substance Use
- Foundry Victoria: 250-383-3552 - mental health & substance use support, primary care, peer support & social services for ages 12-24
- BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services: 310-6789 (no area code needed)
- First Nations & Inuit Hope for Wellness Counselling Services: 1-855-242-3310
- Rapid Access Addiction Clinic: 250-519-3776, 1119 Pembroke Street Victoria
Harm Reduction Services
- Toward the Heart - Includes information on where to get free naloxone kits and safe use supplies
- Vancouver Island Drug Checking Program
Local Sexual Health, Pregnancy, Maternity, and Early Childhood Resources
- Island Sexual Health: 250-592-3479 – Provides sexual health care services, sexual health education, as well as community health care services
- Pathways Find a Maternity Care Provider
- Right From the Start: 250-388-2200 - Provides support for pregnant women and new moms, their babies, children and families
- Pregnancy Options Referral Service Toll-Free: 1-888-875-3163
Health and Social Services Directories:
About Primary Care Networks and the Health Connect Registry
PCNs are community-based networks of health care professionals and clinics who plan and deliver all day-to-day health care needs of a community. Within these networks, teams of providers work together. This way, patients receive better care, by the right person, at the right time, closer to home.
PCNs are part of the Province's Primary and Community Care Strategy to make sure you have faster and better access to the everyday health care services.
The Health Connect Registry is part of this strategy. The Registry works with communities to help match patients with a regular family doctor or nurse practitioner. We know that having a regular provider leads to better health for you and your family.
Update Your Information
Keeping information on the Health Connect Registry up to date is important. This will help us connect you to a family doctor or nurse practitioner. If you need to update information on the Health Connect Registry for yourself, your family or person in your care, please contact HealthLink BC by dialing 8-1-1, or for the deaf and hard of hearing, dialing 7-1-1.
A HealthLink BC health service navigator will ask you for your Personal Health Number. If you are updating information on behalf of your family or a person in your care, you will require their Personal Health Number to make an update.
Health Services and Support
While you are waiting to be connected with a family doctor or nurse practitioner, please consider the following for accessing health services and support.
Call HealthLink BC
HealthLink BC provides free health information and advice any time of the day or night. Call us toll-free at 8-1-1 in B.C., or for the deaf and hard of hearing, call 7-1-1. A health service navigator will help you find the information you are looking for or transfer you to a registered nurse, registered dietitian, licensed pharmacist or qualified exercise professional. Our navigators can also help you find a health service in your community such as a walk-in clinic or urgent primary care centre. Translation services are available in over 130 languages.
Visit your local walk-in clinic
You are welcome to visit a walk-in clinic. Walk-in clinic doctors can diagnose, manage illnesses, prescribe medication, order medical tests and make referrals to specialists. Please visit our HealthLinkBC Directory to find a clinic close to where you live.
Find health services and support in your community
Search our HealthLinkBC Directory to find health services in B.C. We list all publicly-funded health, mental health and addiction treatment programs. If you need help finding a health service, call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 and speak with one of our health service navigators.
The content and resources included on this webpage have been jointly created and curated by the Victoria Primary Care Network and HealthLink BC.