Ottawa will open six flu assessment centres in the city's community health clinics starting on Wednesday, forcing patients who use those clinics to reschedule their appointments.

Although doctors at the community health centres will continue seeing patients with reduced hours, the city is warning that some appointments may be cancelled.

The flu centres will be designated for people exhibiting flu-like symptoms who need non-urgent medical care. The H1N1 vaccine will not be offered at these locations.

"We will assess the severity of symptoms, determine course of treatment on a case-by-case basis, and where appropriate refer to other services such as hospital emergency departments," said Jack McCarthy of the Somerset West Community Health Centre.

Flu centres will be open seven days per week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. They will be available at the following locations:

  • Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, 221 Nelson St.
  • Somerset West Community Health Centre, 55 Eccles St.
  • Centretown Community Health Centre, 420 Cooper St.
  • Dempsey Community Health Centre, 1895 Russell Rd.
  • Carlington Community Health Centre, 900 Merivale Road
  • Pinecrest Queensway Community Health Centre, 1365 Richmond Rd.

Health agencies serving First Nations, Inuit and Metis populations will also provide flu assessments for those target groups.

Public health officials hope the flu centres will help alleviate pressure on emergency departments across the city.

Although Ottawa's supply of H1N1 vaccine is dwindling, city officials are hoping to get a small shipment of the vaccine later this week.

Meantime, health officials in Ottawa are continuing to focus on vaccinating high-risk groups, assuring everyone else that they will be able to get the H1N1 vaccine before Christmas.

Many clinics in the capital were running full or near capacity by late Tuesday morning. It's expected that 100,000 Ottawa residents will have received the H1N1 vaccine by Wednesday.

Meanwhile, city officials are urging residents to help speed up the process by downloading and filling out three vaccine forms before attending the clinics.

In Gatineau, there were short lines at the flu clinic at Promenade de l'Outaouais late Tuesday morning.

Health officials there were handing out tickets to priority groups who lined up to get access to the vaccine. The method is similar to the one that was being used in Ottawa prior to adopting the wristband system.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee