Since it opened, the Whitehorse Walk-in Clinic has provided 9,441 appointments to Yukoners without a family doctor. However, this summer, it has also turned away an average of 22 people seeking appointments, daily.
The clinic opened in January 2024 on Quartz Road before moving to its current home on the corner of Jarvis Street and Second Avenue in Whitehorse. The opening of the clinic was a term of the extension of the confidence-and-supply agreement struck between the Yukon Liberals and the Yukon NDP in 2023.
The clinic only provides care to those without family doctors: currently the Yukon Department of Health and Social Services says that 4,459 Yukoners are waiting to be matched with a family doctor.
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Mairi Macrae, a spokesperson for Health and Social Services said that the Whitehorse Walk-in Clinic is currently fully staffed, with two nurse practitioners, two licensed practical nurses, three medical office assistants, one social worker and one clinic manager. All the positions are permanent.
However, the department said that the participation from contract physicians is not meeting initial expectations for the clinic. That means that there are fewer primary care providers available, meaning fewer appointments open.
"Recruitment efforts specific to physicians have been ongoing and there is currently a targeted recruitment campaign to attract additional physicians to work at the clinic," wrote Macrae in an email to the News.
Macrae told the News that the number of primary care providers available at the clinic varies on a day-to-day basis.
Some of the primary care providers are full-time employees, for example, the nurse practitioners. However, physicians who provide care at the clinic aren't always available, and may have other commitments, Macrae said.
Over the summer months, when people take vacation, primary care provider availability becomes challenging, Macrae said.
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This June, the walk-in clinic had three days where there was only one primary care provider (physician or nurse practitioner) available; July had six days like this, and August had nine. However, according to Macrae, those days still have appointments available with the clinic's social worker, pharmacist or one of the licensed practical nurses.
There were some days this summer where no one who came into the clinic was turned away, Macrae said. However, when there is only one primary care provider in, many people are turned away and asked to come back another day.
Between June 2025 and Aug. 22, 2025, an average of 22 people per day were turned away from the clinic, Macrae said. On average this summer, the clinic was able to get 20 people in a day to see a primary care provider like a physician or a nurse practitioner, as well as appointments with the other healthcare workers at the clinic. The clinic was able to offer around 31 appointments total per day, including appointments with health professionals who weren't primary care practitioners.
Kate White, the leader of the Yukon NDP, said the numbers show that the clinic is "absolutely critical."
At the same time, White said if people are being turned away, it means the clinic needs more resources, and it is the responsibility of the Yukon Liberal government to address that.
"It is about making sure that there's, like, adequate resource and support for the people who are within that clinic, so that they continue to see as many Yukoners as possible," White said.
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Prior to the opening of the walk-in clinic, the emergency room at the Whitehorse General Hospital was the only place that people without a family doctor could go to get health care in Whitehorse, according to Health and Social Services.
"Having to go to the the emergency room for non-emergency things, it clogs up a, you know, a really valuable resource there. People don't want to sit in the emergency room for non-emergency things," White said. "But if that's your only access to the healthcare system, that's a problem."
The walk-in clinic serves an important role in the Yukon's healthcare system, White said. She said there will always be a need for a walk-in clinic with new people coming to the Yukon.
"But a walk-in clinic is, is part of like a band-aid solution, when really what we need is more access to primary care," she said.
White said the NDP has heard from doctors on how to improve retention and recruitment of doctors in the territory.
White said there are not enough operating rooms in the Yukon healthcare system and health-care workers at rural health-care centres need time to take breaks and recharge. As reported by the News, health centres in Faro, Ross River and Pelly Crossing have all recently experienced temporary closures due to lack of staff.
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White also said she would be interested in knowing how the government checks in with those who work at the walk-in clinic.
To White, the clinic is obviously important, given the number of appointments it has been able to offer since opening.
"But to know that people are being turned away, that means that there are still people who need that support, who are being, you know, turned away and really, probably accessing the emergency room. And no one wants that," she said.
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