Geelong will get a new urgent care medical clinic to divert patients away from over-burdened hospital emergency clinics if a Labor government is elected next month.
Corio MP Richard Marles and Corangamite MP Libby Coker visited University Hospital Geelong’s emergency department on Tuesday to announce Geelong would be one of at least 50 locations across the country to receive a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.
The clinic would be part of an initial trial, which would see the a Labor federal government invest at least $135 million over four years.
Mr Marles said Corio and Corangamite families were struggling to access emergency care and were facing increasing pressure from rising out-of-pocket costs to see a GP.
He said the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic would take the pressure off hospital emergency departments by providing an alternative option for families needing urgent care from a doctor or nurse.
The clinic would treat sprains and broken bones, cuts, wounds, insect bites, minor ear and eye problems and minor burns and would be bulk-billed.
Mr Marles said it would be open seven days a week from at least 8 am to 10 pm, which was when most non-life-threatening injuries occur.
“These clinics are a key part of Labor’s plan to strengthen Medicare by making it easier to see a doctor,” he said.
“Medicare Urgent Care Clinics will take the pressure off emergency departments, so they can concentrate on saving lives.”
Ms Coker said the initiative was particularly needed in the growing Geelong, Bellarine and Surf Coast region.
“An Urgent Care Clinic in the Geelong region will give people in the communities I represent a vital new option to receive urgent medical care without having to go to the emergency department.
“This is a great new initiative from Labor. We created Medicare and an Albanese Labor government will strengthen Medicare by providing people with the care they need, when they need it, at no cost.”
