Six new urgent care clinics are set to open in Western Australia as part of a national expansion of the program, but the Royal Australian College of GPs has warned it cannot come at the cost of mainstream general practice.
Federal Labor has committed $644 million to open a further 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across Australia, if re-elected.
In WA clinics are earmarked for Bateman, Ellenbrook, Geraldton, Mirrabooka, Mundaring and Yanchep.
But the RACGP said the expansion will not fix the patient care challenges faced across the country.
RACGP Vice President and WA Chair Ramya Raman said urgent care clinics are an expensive model of care and there had been no clear evaluation on their impact.
“The clinics can be an important addition to the health infrastructure, but the concern we have is whether it is coming at the expense of mainstream general practice,” she told Medical Forum.
“This is not about dismissing urgent care clinics or doctors who are working there – we support our GPs who are working in urgent care centres – but equally we would like to see some of this funding going into existing infrastructures to enable more efficient care to be delivered.
“We want to make sure the urgent care clinic model is not shifting funding and the workforce from our existing general practices and then making them less viable.”
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Dr Raman said putting the funding towards existing general practice instead would support after hours care to ensure GPs could support urgent care needs.
“We know there is an established relationship with their GP, patients trust their GP, that means their urgent care needs can be met there if we can keep our doors open after hours,” she added.
“Generally, when I see a patient I know their past medical history, or I know their circumstances, or know the medications they’re on.
“The health outcome is a lot better because there is that continuity of care and it reduces hospital admissions.
“The opportunity here is for the government to actually fund existing general practices which will then, ultimately, enable after hours care for patients.”
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The new clinics will open during the 2025/26 financial year. The Department of Health and Aged Care claimed the expansion would ensure four in five Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of a clinic, but it was unclear if that included people living in rural and remote areas.
The clinics are in addition to the 87 currently operational across Australia and the eight in Western Australia.
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright also said the best solution to increase access to urgent care was to fund general practice.
“Without an evaluation of the urgent care clinic model, there is no evidence that it is a solution. We do not support ongoing investment without the evidence that it works,” he said.
“There are reports that each visit to an urgent care clinic costs approximately $200 per head. This is cheaper than a visit to a hospital emergency department, but it’s far more expensive than if the patient is treated by a GP, which for a standard consult costs a little over $42.”
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The College also raised concerns about how the clinics will be staffed given ongoing workforce issues.
The Liberal Party has confirmed it will continue existing Urgent Care Clinics and will make further announcements “in due course”.
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