An urgent care clinic will open in Queanbeyan later this month, the federal government has announced.
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The clinic will open at the Brindabella Family Practice, which was selected as the site of the clinic through a process with the NSW government.
The Queanbeyan clinic is one of 29 extra clinics opening as part of an expansion announced in the May federal budget.
The clinic will be open seven days a week and will be able to offer care to residents in the ACT as well.
The Commonwealth said it would reduce pressure on Queanbeyan District Hospital's emergency department, with up to 70 per cent of presentations to the hospital being for semi-urgent or non-urgent matters.
"The Queanbeyan Urgent Care Clinic will help ensure locals on both sides of the border can get free, urgent care, when they need it and fully bulk billed, taking pressure off busy hospital emergency departments," Health Minister Mark Butler said.
The urgent care clinics were a commitment made by federal Labor in the 2022 election. The $135 million commitment was to trial the clinics.
There are 58 clinics already in operation with the government announcing it would add an extra 29 clinics across Australia as part of a $227 million budget package.
The clinics are designed for patients needing walk-in treatment to take pressure off hospital emergency departments.
The ACT's nurse-led walk-in centres joined the urgent clinic care network last year.
Documents, released under freedom of information this week, showed the ACT government had initially proposed to include GPs within the existing walk-in clinics.
But this proposal was ditched after consultation showed some reluctance from stakeholders on blending GPs with the nurse-led clinics.
The ACT government decided to retain the existing walk-in centre model but include extra services, including radiology and a range of other treatments.
The Queanbeyan clinic will be similar to the rollout occurring across Australia in that it will include GPs. It is a free service.
"Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are providing the urgent care people need, and all they need is their Medicare card, not their credit card," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Lucy Bladen
Lucy Bladen has been a journalist at The Canberra Times since 2019. She is an ACT politics and health reporter. Email: l.bladen@canberratimes.com.au
Lucy Bladen has been a journalist at The Canberra Times since 2019. She is an ACT politics and health reporter. Email: l.bladen@canberratimes.com.au
