GLEN BARNDON, HOST: Well, Midwest residents from today have access to additional health care options with the opening of an Urgent Care Clinic in Geraldton at 233 Leicester Avenue, working out of the Panaceum Group building there. And the clinic is expected to ease pressure on the Geraldton Regional Hospital with around 50 per cent of presentations in the past couple of years were for semi-urgent or non-urgent conditions. The clinic is part of an existing network of Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across our state. So, let's get more of the background.
The Federal Assistant Minister for Health is Emma McBride, and the Minister's taken the time to join us. Good morning.
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Good morning. Good to be with you.
BARNDON: Well, Minister, you've had a very busy morning. Already, you've been in the Parliament and you've heard the Canadian Prime Minister.
MCBRIDE: It was a very welcome visit at the invitation of the Australian Government. And to hear a country that we have such deep ties with and such strong strategic connections with speak to that in an address in the Australian Parliament today.
BARNDON: It's also a special day in the Midwest because it's the opening of Geraldton’s Urgent Care Clinic. What are the Urgent Care Clinics set out to do?
MCBRIDE: Urgent Care Clinics, which we first introduced in Australia in 2023, are providing urgent care closer to home for people for free. They're where somebody can walk in without a booked appointment and see a doctor under Medicare for urgent but not life-threatening conditions - it might be a break, a sprain, a spike in temperature. I mean, what we've noticed is that they're very popular, particularly with families of young children.
BARNDON: What is the difference between going to emergency at a hospital and going to a Urgent Care Clinic?
MCBRIDE: The Urgent Care Clinics are designed for urgent but not life-threatening conditions. So, someone may be a parent with a baby that's spiked a temperature, their GP's closed, they're not sure whether they need to go to the emergency department or not, can then go to the urgent care. And they're open extended hours, so when someone's regular GP is likely to have closed, so that people can visit when they need to and not have to wait at busy emergency departments.
We also know that at your local Geraldton Regional Hospital, about one in two presentations in the last year were for what's considered semi-urgent or non-urgent conditions, conditions that will now be able to be seen at the urgent care so that the doctors and the staff in the emergency department can see those more life-threatening presentations.
BARNDON: So, it's also beneficial because we know that it is hard to make an appointment to see a doctor, because doctors are pretty busy. But this is somewhere people can go that fills the gap between seeing a doctor and going to emergency at a hospital?
MCBRIDE: And that's what we're seeing across Western Australia and around the country. This will be the 14th Medicare Urgent Care Clinic open in Western Australia, part of a growing network of 137 across the country. Since the first one opened, we've now seen more than 2.6 million Australians have been able to go- walk into an urgent care clinic without an appointment, see a doctor quickly and for free under Medicare. And what our intention is to bring urgent care closer to most people in Australia, which is why we're so delighted that one's opening in 233 Leicester Avenue, Geraldton today.
BARNDON: And do patients get bulk billed, Minister?
MCBRIDE: Yes, it's really important that your listeners know that patients are bulk billed. And that all they need to bring is their Medicare card and they'll be able to get expert care from qualified and experienced doctors and nurses, are quick to treat a range of conditions and injuries that need urgent attention but aren't life-threatening. And all for free under Medicare.
BARNDON: And how have these been received, the ones that have already been open?
MCBRIDE: They have, including in Western Australia, more than- well, close to 300,000 Western Australians have been able to visit the existing Urgent Care Clinics and, as I mentioned, more than 2.6 million Australians have.
A particular feature that we've noticed is that one in four of these presentations were patients aged under 15 years old, which is showing that parents and families are finding these a trusted alternative to the emergency department - whether a young, you know, a baby's had a spike in temperature, a young person has had an injury on a sporting field, or, you know, they've got a flare-up of their asthma. So, really important, particularly for families in your community.
BARNDON: Well, Minister, I appreciate you taking the time out. I know you're very busy this morning. A pretty special day for the Midwest.
MCBRIDE: Absolutely. Thanks. Good to be with you.
BARNDON: Federal Assistant Health Minister Emma McBride there outlining the Urgent Care Clinic that opens in Geraldton today at 233 Leicester Avenue.