New centre is located in room N203 of the Minto Sports Complex
On May 1, the University of Ottawa’s new Student Health and Wellness Centre officially opened its doors, replacing the Byward Family Health Team’s Campus Same Day Clinic.
The Campus Same Day Clinic at 100 Marie-Curie private permanently closed to those without a registered primary care provider on April 30 of this year. The clinic was initially introduced on Sept. 1, 2021, replacing the previous walk-in clinic. According to the initial announcement, it was a result of the clinic’s abrupt reduction in the number of family physicians over the summer.
The university’s website claims the new Student Health and Wellness Centre was months in the making. It offers both walk-in and mental health services exclusively to students at the University of Ottawa and Saint Paul University.
In an email update on the clinic’s closure last week, the Byward Family Health Team gave students and faculty more information on the changes to on-campus health services.
“The new Student Health and Wellness Centre will provide integrated physical and mental health services as well as health promotion and education,” said the clinic.
Unlike the Campus Same Day Clinic, which required patients to book a virtual or phone appointment prior to an in-person assessment, the Student Health and Wellness Centre allows students to choose either a phone or in-person appointment right from the beginning.
Students looking for health and wellness services are invited to book appointments one of four ways: in person, over the phone, online, or using the UpPatient app. Both walk-in and mental health appointments can be scheduled during their regular hours of operation: Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Tuesdays between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m..
Though their website claims to offer extended hours exclusively for mental health services on Wednesdays and Thursdays, a representative at the centre claimed they haven’t started operating on that schedule yet.
Additionally, the centre welcomes student feedback, offering a submission folder on the official page to allow patients the chance to share their opinions.
According to the website, “an advisory committee including students and student association representatives is developing the centre and continually improving its services.”
