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By ADAM BOWIE
bowie.adam@dailygleaner.com

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A new daytime walk-in clinic in Fredericton will give people without a family doctor another place to go for primary health-care services.

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Adam Bowie photo

Dr. Paul Smith will see patients at Fredericton’s newest daytime walk-in clinic at 640 Prospect St.

Dr. Paul Smith opened the city's second daytime clinic this week and will see patients on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays between 8-11:30 a.m.

The office is located in Suite 104 at 640 Prospect St., along the left side of the Pharmasave building.

Smith, who has practised family medicine for more than 30 years, said the clinic should make life easier for the many local residents who have been unable to secure a family physician.

"In a perfect world we'd have enough (general practitioners) to look after their own patients. But that's just not the way things are. We're talking about reality here," he said.

"The walk-in clinics - the evening and daytime ones - are here to stay, until we ever reach a place where we have enough docs to look after everybody. Lots of docs are booked up two, three, four weeks ahead and they don't really have the openings for (sick patients)."

Smith also staffs a similar clinic in the McAdam area a few days per week.

He said crowded emergency rooms and busy family practices have made walk-in clinics a necessary piece of the health-care puzzle.

And some family physicians enjoy mixing up their workload.

"It's fun medicine. I've been doing medicine for 30 years and to do a little mix keeps it interesting," he said.

"If you're doing the same thing all the time - even if that's your main thing - that may be great, but a mix is good for everybody in terms of keeping your interest up. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think it was interesting."

Smith said trying to figure out what's bothering a person in a short period of time keeps a doctor on his or her toes.

"You have to get the bigger picture real fast, and have to understand what is safe for the patient in terms of possible treatments," he said.

"It's always a challenge. Little things that may seem really simple could be very complicated in some cases. Certainly, the experiences I've had come in handy quite frequently."

No appointments are necessary.

Smith said he will discuss one medical issue per appointment.