Community
6 September, 2024
Urgent care clinics relieve pressure on ED
HAVING treated more than 12,0000 patients since its establishment, Warrnambool’s Urgent Care Clinic is helping relieve pressure off the hospital’s busy emergency department.
The clinic (formerly called a ‘priority primary care Centre’) continues to treat patients from across the western district and beyond from its Fairy Street location.
The clinic is one of 29 set up by the state government to reduce pressure on busy emergency departments, with patient survey data revealing around 50 per cent would have gone to emergency if the clinics did not exist.
Highly experienced general practitioners lead the clinics, supported by nurses.
These are offered free for anyone with or without a Medicare card and people can seek care for a range of reasons including sprains, broken bones, mild burns, respiratory illness, tonsillitis, ear infections and urinary tract infections.
Hospitals, paramedics, Nurse on Call and the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) are also using the clinics as a safe and effective referral option – with around 36 per cent of patients coming via those services.
The clinics also receive referrals from GP clinics and pharmacies.
Across country Victoria, 142,000 patients have been seen across the nine clinics.
“Sadly, too many Victorians are unable to secure an appointment or afford to see a GP,” Member for Western Victoria Jacinta Ermacora said.
“The Warrnambool Urgent Care Clinic in Fairy Street has been in high demand and as a result has taken pressure off the emergency department at the Base Hospital.
“This is a great initiative of the state government.”
Ms Ermacora believes as these clinics become further embedded in the health system, it’s important to ensure they are aligned with national Medicare Urgent Care clinics.
“The Commonwealth Government has now taken over funding 10 of Victoria’s existing clinics as part of its responsibility for delivering primary care across Australia,” she said.
“Continued investment in the VVED has resulted in more than 360,000 virtual consultations since 2020 – and 86 per cent of those callers didn’t require physical care.”
Premier Jacinta Allan said the recent change of name, from priority primary care to urgent care clinic, is to enable Victorians to know how and where to get the right kind of care.
“Hundreds of thousands of patients across our state have been diverted away from our busy EDs and ambulances through these free clinics,” she said.
“These clinics offer an alternative option when families need urgent but not emergency care.”
In an emergency, people should still call triple zero or attend their closest hospital emergency department.
