The Labor Party has pledged to fund two Medicare Urgent Care Clinics on the Central Coast if elected on May 21.
The move was announced by Member for Dobell, Emma McBride, and Labor candidate for Robertson, Dr Gordon Reid, with one clinic to be placed in each of the electorates.
Reid said the clinics would take pressure off under-staffed emergency departments at Gosford and Wyong hospitals.
“As a local doctor who works in emergency departments on the Central Coast, I know our EDs are overwhelmed – making it difficult for patients to receive the care they need, when they need it,” he said.
“These Medicare Urgent Care Clinics will take the pressure off local hospitals and doctors, and ensure families are being treated in a timely way.”
He said the clinics would give people another avenue of care, with urgent care centres already operating successfully in New Zealand, Canada and the US.
McBride said as a pharmacist she also knew the importance of quality healthcare close to home.
“Right now, we have a GP crisis on the Coast – locals are waiting weeks for routine appointments, practices have been forced to close their books, and emergency departments can’t keep up with demand,” she said.
The clinics would be open seven days a week from at least 8am to 10pm and would treat such things as sprains and broken bones, cuts, wounds, insect bites, minor ear and eye problems and minor burns.
Care would be bulk-billed, meaning locals would not be left out of pocket for seeking urgent medical care.
The move is part of Labor’s wider plan to invest $135M over four years to establish a trial of 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.
Source:
Media release, May 1
Federal Labor Party