Anthony Albanese flew into Perth on February 1 for a whirlwind 24-hour tour and to launch the expression of interest period for the first of the Government’s new urgent care clinics.
The Prime Minister was joined by the Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, Minister Mark Butler, and his state counterpart, Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson at a practice in Morley to announce the opening of the Expression of Interest period (EOI) to establish the first seven Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (Medicare UCCs) here in WA.
Category 4 and 5 presentations to WA hospitals – non-life-threatening emergencies – represent 47% of presentations to emergency departments and the introduction of the Medicare UCCs will mean that instead of taking up precious ED space, patients will be able to get care in their local community.
The EOI will be run by the WA Primary Health Alliance, from 10 February to 24 March 2023, and will be available to existing general practices, community health centres and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services.
“It is great to be back in WA for what is an exciting announcement,” the Prime Minister said.
“Our Medicare Urgent Care Clinics mean more families in WA will get top-quality care from a nurse or a doctor without having to wait in a hospital ED: the UCCs will take pressure off hospitals like Fiona Stanley, Rockingham, and Joondalup Health, and these clinics are a key part of the Government’s plan to strengthen Medicare by making it easier to see a doctor.
“They will be open seven days a week and all you will need is your Medicare card.”
During the last election Labor pledged $135 million across four years to support the program, or $675,000 per clinic, and originally the UCCs were scheduled to be up and running by May 2023, with the Coalition accusing the Government of broken promises once it was revealed that the original deadline would be missed.
“We expect three of them to be up and running in Perth City, Joondalup, and Rockingham by 1 July 2023, and the remaining four in Murdoch, Midland, Bunbury, and Broome to be up by the end of the year,” Mr Albanese said.
“Urgent Care Clinics are a common-sense solution as part of our Strengthening Medicare program that we went to the election absolutely committed to do.
“Quite clearly, we need to have a better way of engaging primary healthcare that the Commonwealth has responsibility for. With the hospital sector, that is a responsibility primarily of the states, but we can work better together, and I am very pleased that the WA Government have been working with us on this announcement today.”
Minister Butler said that the Government had been able to reach an agreement with the states and territories on locations for all 50 Medicare UCCs.
“We have been able to agree operational rules and, very importantly, we have also been able to agree on protocols that will exist between the UCCs, local EDs and ambulance services as well, to make sure that people are going to the right place, to get the right care from fully qualified health professionals,” Mr Butler said.
“And we are really delighted that we will probably see the first urgent care centres in the country rolled out here in WA.”
The Prime minister explained that while the 50 Medicare UCCs could be attached to a hospital, they have primarily been designed to integrate with an existing GP service.
“There is not funding here for infrastructure to build a facility,” Mr Albanese clarified.
“There is funding, however which will be available for infrastructure to perhaps build on a wing or to help with the specialist services that are not available in an existing facility, like an X-ray.
“So, for example, the facility we visited in Morley today, that will put in, no doubt, an expression of interest as part of this process, they have on-site X-ray facilities, they have a pharmacy, they have pathology facilities.”
“This is a service that sits on top of existing GP practices; this will not be simply funding to continue practice as operating business as usual; this has got to be an additional service,” Minister Butler explained.
“That will mean sometimes the doctors might be providing some services in the general practice at times and in other shifts, providing services in the urgent care centre.”
Minister Butler said that while he expected that hundreds of personnel will be needed to staff the clinics, the exact figure would be clarified during the expression of interest process.
“And frankly, it will be different in different parts of the community. You would expect an urgent care centre in the middle of a major city like this one, probably to be larger than some of the rural and regional urgent care centres that we have committed to elsewhere in the country.
“There is not a cookie-cutter approach to this, which is why we are engaging primary health networks that are that are so closely connected to their general practice community, and we are seeking those expressions of interest to make sure that the proposals that are put in suit the local needs of the community.
“What we have been very clear not to do is to build new clinics that will be operating or setting up in competition with existing practices. That was the very clear message I got through peaks like the AMA and the [RACGP], and individual practices as well – they are doing it tough right now and the last thing they need is the Commonwealth Government to build and set up a practice that operates in competition with them.
“What we want to hear is practices in communities like this that want to take the next step, really lift the operation of their practice, to deliver a service their community needs, but is not getting right now.”