Provider identified for the Torquay Medicare Urgent Clinic

The Albanese Government is pleased to announce a provider has been selected to operate the new Torquay Medicare Urgent Care Clinic following a competitive tender process led by the Western Victoria Primary Health Network.
 
ForHealth has been identified as the successful provider to operate the Torquay Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, which will be located at 85 Surf Coast Highway, Torquay, and delivered in partnership with Surf Coast Medical Centre.
 
The clinic will be open seven days a week operating extended hours.
 
The new Urgent Care Clinic will begin delivering care for the community by the end of the year.
 
The clinic will offer walk-in care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions and will be fully bulk billed.  
 
The clinic will help to ease pressure on the Geelong University Hospital emergency department, where around 33 per cent of presentations in 2023-24 were for semi-urgent or non-urgent conditions.
 
The Torquay Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will join the existing network of 20 Medicare UCCs across Victoria.
 
Ninety Medicare UCCs are in operation across Australia, which have already seen more than 2.1 million presentations since the first sites opened in June 2023. This includes over 441,000 presentations to the existing Victorian Medicare UCCs. 
 
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:  
  
“The Albanese Government is getting on with the job of delivering more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics for people in Victoria.
 
“The new clinic in Torquay will be open seven days a week, extended hours and most importantly they’ll be fully bulk billed.
 
“This clinic will take pressure off the local hospitals, including the Geelong University Hospital, and will fill an important gap in services across extended hours and over the weekend.” 
 
Quotes attributable to Libby Coker MP:
 
“Torquay is growing rapidly, and it’s one of Victoria’s most popular summer destinations – from shift workers, students and families to the thousands of tourists who come every summer, we know there’s real demand for healthcare outside of regular hours.
 
“Our new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Torquay will mean people can get the medical attention they need, without having to wait in an emergency department or worry about the cost.”