The Peninsula Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (Medicare UCC) at Umina Beach was officially opened on November 20.
Located at 297 West St, the Medicare UCC will make it easier for people on the Central Coast to get the urgent treatment they need – from highly qualified doctors and nurses – while taking pressure off local hospitals.
It will be open for extended hours, seven days a week, and offer walk-in care that is fully bulk billed.
More than 45 per cent of presentations to the Gosford Hospital are for non-urgent or semi-urgent care.
The Peninsula Medicare UCC will join eight clinics that are already operational in Albury, Cessnock, Maroubra, Penrith, Rooty Hill, Tamworth, Westmead, and Wollongong.
The Lismore and Coffs Harbour clinics also opened on November 20 and will be soon joined by the final three NSW clinics – at Batemans Bay, Campbelltown and Lake Haven – before the end of the year.
Health Minister Mark Butler was on hand for the Umina opening.
“The Peninsula Medicare UCC will mean people on the Central Coast who need urgent but not acute care, can get it quickly even if it’s outside standard hours – and all they’ll need is their Medicare card,” he said.
“Locals will be able to walk in, see a doctor or nurse and access imaging and pathology services.
“This clinic will ease pressure on the Gosford Hospital, allowing them to concentrate on higher priority emergencies.”
Member for Robertson Gordon Reid said he was pleased to deliver on an election promise.
“The Peninsula Medicare UCC is going to make a big difference to patients across the Central Coast,” he said.
“I know many families who have had to wait long hours at the Gosford Emergency Department for non-life-threatening issues.
“This Medicare UCC will ease pressure on local EDs and be much more convenient for our communities – closer to home, at short notice, and bulk billed under Medicare.”