New milestone for Medicare Urgent Care Clinics

Federal Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler visited the Western Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) on Friday, 22 May to announce that more than 1.5 million people receiving free, urgent care at an Urgent Care Clinic.

Mr Butler joined Dr Carolyn Roesler, ForHealth Clinical Director SA - Head of Governance (Policies & Procedures), and Andrew Cohen, ForHealth CEO, at the Western Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, situated within the Old Port Road Medical & Dental Centre, to announce the major milestone.

The interim report of the evaluation of Medicare Urgent Care Clinics found that nearly half of all patients who attended a clinic would have gone to the hospital emergency department if the Urgent Care Clinic wasn't available.

The interim report also found people wait for half as long to be treated at an Urgent Care Clinic as they would in a hospital emergency department and are almost three times more likely to be seen within the first 60 minutes.

The Albanese Labor Government is set to open another 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across the country in 2025-26, where an estimated four in five Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of a clinic, once they are all operating.

"In two short years, Medicare Urgent Care Clinics have become a vital part of Australia's health system and clocked up 1.5 million free visits," Mr Butler said.

The Medicare Urgent Care Clinic program is supported by funding from Adelaide Primary Health Network through the Australian Government's PHN Program.

Photo caption: Dr Carolyn Roesler, ForHealth Clinical Director SA - Head of Governance (Policies & Procedures), and Andrew Cohen, ForHealth CEO, and Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler.