Days have been busy at Regina’s brand new Urgent Care Centre – with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) reporting more than 500 patients were treated at the facility in its first week alone.

The centre, located at 1320 Albert St., currently operates from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., seven days a week with plans to move to 24/7 service once staffing is fully complimented.

The facility is intended for urgent, non-emergent patients with non-life-threatening injuries or illnesses.

Additionally, the centre is equipped to help those dealing with crises relating to mental health and addictions – even featuring a separate entrance for these types of crises.

According to SHA Executive Director of Acute Care Thomas Stewart – the centre has successfully diverted some patient traffic away from the city’s emergency rooms.

“We do know, for example, on the first day of operations we had 108 people on July 2, 42 of those patients required an x-ray,” he explained, speaking to reporters on Tuesday.

“So one focus is that many of those patients would’ve been seeking that care in alternate locations such as an emergency department.”

In its first six days of operation, a total of 170 x-rays were completed.

Stewart maintains that the centre is approaching its goal of a full compliment of staff.

“We continue to hire over the summer months and complete the orientation and still are working towards the target of 24/7 operation in the fall,” he explained.

As of June 28, the centre had 117 personnel. The SHA hopes to bump that up to 130 full-time staff.