REPORTER: Urgent Medicare clinics are sort of popping up everywhere. They're a fantastic option for people who may not need to go to the hospital or can't get into their GP's. How have they been going?
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: They've been making a really big difference to patients and families right across the country. We promised 50, we then delivered 58. We now have 62 up and running across the country, growing to 87. What we're seeing is through Medicare urgent care clinics that people are being able to get timely, urgent care close to home for free, walk in without an appointment. And here in Coffs harbor since they opened their doors last October, they've now seen 5700 visits. 5700 where someone's been able to get timely free walk-in support and care and reducing the pressure off local hospital emergency departments. Many of the presentations talking to Doctors Kate and Steve today are ear infections, urinary tract infections lacerations, fractures. So the type of urgent care that can be provided at a Medicare urgent care clinic safely and quickly.
This is proving to be the perfect option for the staff as well, not just patients in the community. As a clinician myself and someone who worked in a regional hospital, I know how stretched they are and how dedicated and capable those clinicians are. And what we're seeing across the country is the right kind of presentations at Medicare urgent care clinics, the right triage categories, which means that in the hospital emergency departments, they can see the sicker patients that need more lifesaving care, while someone else can get care here in a Medicare urgent care clinic. Providing really affordable, safe care close to home and reducing the demand on the already stretched emergency departments.
REPORTER: I mean, how are these funded and how long they've been funded for? Is there a chance that they might start closing soon?
MCBRIDE: The government is invested in Medicare urgent care clinics ongoing. We have invested more than $750 million in the Medicare urgent care clinics across the country, and we've seen a particular increase in investment of around $227 million in the last budget, recognising the resources that are needed to be able to expand the network, but also for centres outside of major cities to be able to recruit and retain the expert staff that we need to provide the care within the centres.
REPORTER: Are there the doctors and the staff to actually man these clinics?
MCBRIDE: What we've done is commissioning through the Primary Health Networks, in this case through Healthy North Coast PHN, and working with existing medical practises to make sure that we have the staff that we need to be able to provide this care. And having spoken to Steve and Kate today, I know that it's the kind of care that doctors really find fulfilling to provide that they can be able to suture someone, plaster someone, and then see them home makes it very rewarding for doctors as well. So I know it's a quite appealing type of care and a new model of care of emergency care in Australia.
REPORTER: This is the right way to go, do you think?
MCBRIDE: What we've seen already is that since the first Medicare urgent care clinic opened last June, we've seen more than 550,000 visits across the country, many of them parents presenting with children under 15. A trusted alternative to the emergency department. Also, many of those appointments are out of hours. So here in Coffs harbor open eight till eight seven days a week. And across the country close to a 1 in 5 appointments are outside of normal hours. Giving people a good alternative to an emergency department that is free, that is close to home, that is easily accessible.