A GP for Me was a joint province-wide initiative of the Government of BC and Doctors of BC. The initiative's aim is to strengthen the health care system by:

• Enabling patients who want a family doctor to find one.
• Increasing the capacity of the primary health care system.
• Confirming and strengthening the continuous doctor-patient relationship, which includes providing better support for the needs of vulnerable patients.

Over time, the supports provided by A GP For Me will:

• Make it easier for doctors to provide and coordinate care for their patients efficiently - so they will be able to accept more patients into their practices; and
• Enable physicians to develop plans at a community level to improve local primary care capacity, including a mechanism for finding doctors locally for patients who are looking for one.

Divisions of ​Family ​Practice around the province have been developing A GP for Me with their local needs in mind. Here in Burnaby, our A GP for Me team has developed five strategies to meet the priorities of our community. Implementation is underway and will be complete by March 2016.

The Burnaby Division’s A GP for Me program centres on five strategies aimed at improving residents’ access to family physicians.

Recruitment, Retention and Practice Coverage

We’re working to increase the number of family physicians in our community by attracting new physicians to Burnaby, helping those nearing retirement create a transition plan and retaining retiring Burnaby physicians as locums.  For a current list of physicians accepting new patients in Burnaby, click here.

Office Efficiency Practice Supports

Through A GP for Me, we are helping physicians improve the efficiency of their practices with learning opportunities created with the specific needs of physicians and medical office assistants (MOAs) in mind. We are also creating opportunities so physicians and MOAs can share knowledge and information ​about efficiencies that have worked for them.

Community Connection

Developed in partnership with HealthLink BC, the Community Connection strategy will aim to increase family doctors awareness about HealthLink BC's support services. HealthLink BC provides support to patients and the public, including: registered nurses (24/7 call centre), licensed pharmacists (5pm to 9am), and registered dieticians (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).  Click here to see what HealthLink BC has to offer.

Mental Health Strategy

The Mental Health strategy builds on a partnership with Burnaby Mental Health and Fraser Health's Practice Support Program. We will pilot a group visit model with 5 - 8 GPs who will be trained to use this model in their practices with their patients.

Community Attachment Mechanism

The Attachment strategy aims to serve all patients looking for a family doctor, however vulnerable patients will be the focus. Included in this strategy is the attachment of patients from the Global Family Care Clinic to family doctors who are already working closely with this population.