JESS TEESDALE, MEMBER FOR BASS: Good morning, everyone. Thank you so much for coming along today. This is an incredibly exciting time for us, here in Bass particularly. We know that the Launceston Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is one of the busiest in the nation, and that reflects the need that we have within our community. Now, over the last few months we've been out and talked to a lot of people on the doors, and every time this clinic was brought up, people had either been here themselves or knew someone who had. And every single response we got was overwhelmingly positive, so we're really, really grateful now to be with a federal Labor government who listens to the needs of our community and is following up on that need. So, this announcement today with our extended hours shows that when we listen, we create the change that we need, and this is really going to be a benefit to our local community. Thank you very much.
REBECCA WHITE, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING: Well, thank you for coming. And I'll invite Dr Jerome Muir Wilson to speak as well, who runs this practice in partnership with the Federal Government, delivering Medicare Urgent Care Clinic here in Launceston. From today, people in the north of Tasmania can access the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic on Wellington Street here in Launceston from 9am. It'll be open from 9am to 8pm, which is an extension of hours, and it is available seven days a week for urgent, free medical care. We know how significant this investment has been over the time it's been stood up here in the north of the state. It is one of the busiest Medicare Urgent Care Clinics in the country. To date, they've seen more than 33,000 patients, and on average they're seeing about 50 patients a day, and in their winter months they're even busier. So, it's taking incredible strain off the Launceston Emergency Department, with about 50 per cent of presentations to this clinic would have otherwise shown up in the emergency department at the Launceston General Hospital. So, by having the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic here providing urgent medical care to Tasmanians in the north of the state, we know this is helping relieve pressure on the busy emergency department and the staff who are working at the hospital.
It's also providing more timely access to healthcare for people who need it. Medicare Urgent Care Clinics have been a huge success right across the country, and I'm very proud the Australian Labor Government has been able to open 87 across the country, including five here in Tasmania. And in addition to our efforts to extend the opening hours here in Launceston, we're also going to build three more: one in Burnie, one in Sorell and one in Kingborough, because we recognise how significant these are and how helpful they've been to Tasmanians who've needed access to urgent medical care.
I'll pass across to Dr Jerome Muir Wilson so he can speak to you, and then I'm happy to take any questions.
JOURNALIST: Did you want us to ask you questions? Or did you have something to say first up?
JEROME MUIR WILSION, GENERAL PRACTITIONER, LAUNCESTON HEALTH HUB: I can try and say something first up, and then ask some questions.
JOURNALIST: Sure.
MUIR WILSON: So, we certainly really welcome the announcement and the opening today of day one of the extended hours. We’ve seen so many patients and families benefit from coming through the doors, as was mentioned before. Whether it’s someone at a weekend sporting event that gets injured that can come and get their plaster cast, or it’s someone with some pain during the week, it’ll be really nice. Day one today, we’ve already had an ambulance drop off a patient this morning, and it’s really nice to give patients, ambulances and the community a connected option to keep them out of emergency.
JOURNALIST: How many more patients can you guys see with these extended hours?
MUIR WILSON: Yeah, so we hope to up - to double the capacity. So, when something's truly urgent, it couldn't always wait till 2 o'clock till we opened. So now that, if you've got a cut that needs suturing or you've got a child in a lot of pain or someone's sick, it's so nice to be able to see them when they need to be seen. Because otherwise, in our community, there was no other option apart from the ED at times.
JOURNALIST: And prior to this, was there ever a case where you guys were closing and had to turn people away, or had to send them to the hospital or elsewhere?
MUIR WILSON: So far, we've been open every day since the announcement – we've been really proud of that – including Christmas Day. Certainly before 2 o'clock, we had people turning up to the medical centre up the road saying, can't I be seen now? And it was really hard to fit them into a day of general practice. Whereas now, it's a whole lot better when you've got staff and nurses and doctors working together set up to see them.
JOURNALIST: What would you say is the most common thing people are presenting for here?
MUIR WILSON: Yeah, so I think the most common thing would be young families that have got a sick child that's quite unwell, and they need to check if it's asthma or a flu for this time of the year. So, it's really good to help those families that are unwell get on the right track and get seen early.
JOURNALIST: In terms of staff, do you have enough to cope with this extra demand now?
MUIR WILSON: Yeah. So, it’s been really good with staff. We've been training up a number of nurses to join our team, so we've doubled our nursing workforce. And we've never had a locum since the first few months of opening, so it's been really nice that we've been able to attract and retain doctors to live in our community. So, a number of the GPs working in the clinic are new to Launceston and have some connection to here, and they've found the work really valuable and they can see the difference they're making, so it's been really nice to be able to staff at work.
JOURNALIST: How many people do you think- or how many GPs and doctors work here?
MUIR WILSON: Yeah, so we've got around 15 doctors that work here, and they cover the hours between them. And so there's some that it's their only job, and others that work as a GP in our community and do a day or two a week in helping out.
JOURNALIST: And when you do, you know, treat a patient, I guess, what's their response to the service that you're offering?
MUIR WILSON: It's so nice. As Jess mentioned before, when someone says I've been to your Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, they always say it with a smile and always have a positive experience. And for years, their only option was waiting in a crowded emergency department when it's really hard to know how - when to be seen, and now to have that option. And the emergency department's got an incredibly important role to play for really sick people for heart attacks and car crashes, and it's really well designed for that, and urgent care can do a great job of simple fractures, simple lacerations and unwell people to give them some answers.
JOURNALIST: Alright. So just on Nyrstar, will the Federal Government be offering any financial support to keep its Lutona facility afloat?
WHITE: So, the Minister for Industry, Tim Ayres, has been working very closely with Nyrstar because we recognise how important this is as a major industrial to the Tasmanian economy, but also to our sovereign capability as a nation. I know that the Tasmanian Parliamentary Labor team has also sat down with Nyrstar to understand some of the pressures they're facing, and we're working closely with them to see how we can resolve them.
JOURNALIST: Do you expect any announcements in the near future?
WHITE: Well, those are conversations that are being had at the moment between the Minister, Tim Ayres, and Nyrstar and the management there. They're working through those things. Obviously, there are some time pressures there but we recognise that the best way for us to have those conversations is directly with one another, and those are ongoing.
JOURNALIST: So, is there any kind of assistance the Federal Government is considering to offer?
WHITE: Well, they'll be matters you need to put to the Minister. He's the one who's been working directly with the company, but I can assure you that as the Tasmanian parliamentary team we are working very closely with the Minister and Nyrstar, recognising how important this major industry is for our state and for the 500 workers who are employed there.
JOURNALIST: Now on Liberty Bell Bay, is the Federal Government in talks with Sanjeev Gupta or the GFG Alliance about its future viability?
WHITE: We've been consistent in calling for them to be transparent around the financial state of the company and to make sure that they update workers and the broader community, particularly here in Tasmania, about their commitment, and to provide certainty to the workforce and to the industry here in Tasmania. We remain firmly of the view that they need to continue to be transparent and provide updates because there are, again, a lot of workers employed at that major industrial site. It is very important for the Bell Bay region, and we want to ensure that those jobs remain here in Tasmania.
JOURNALIST: Have you been satisfied with their transparency now?
WHITE: We'd still call on the alliance to continue to be transparent with respect to their financial situation to provide certainty for the workers and for the broader sector who rely upon them to remain viable here in Tasmania.
JOURNALIST: Is the GFG Alliance asking the Federal Government for anything regarding Liberty Bell Bay?
WHITE: Those are questions that you would have to put to the Minister. I'm not aware of any requests that have been made.
JOURNALIST: On maternity, do you think the new model of private maternity patients in Hobart going to Calvary is a sustainable model?
WHITE: It was disappointing to see Healthscope announce that they were no longer providing private maternity services in Hobart, and that's why the Federal Government provided $6 million to support the Royal Hobart Hospital and Calvary Hospital to provide more birthing services to mothers in the south of the state. We encourage, of course, Calvary and the Royal Hobart Hospital to work collaboratively to make sure that we can support birthing mothers to access the care they need. Having a baby is a really incredibly exciting time for a parent, and you want to make sure that you've got care arrangements that best suit you and your family, and that's why the Federal Government provided $6 million of support so that we can provide the workforce and also the other support that's required to make sure parents have got choice.
JOURNALIST: Should the Royal Hobart be picking up some of those private births?
WHITE: So, the $6 million that the Federal Government provided is to support both the Royal Hobart Hospital and Calvary Hospital, to support birthing mothers in the south of the state, because with the closure of the Hobart Private Hospital birthing services, we know there are going to be parents making choices now about where they have their babies. And that's particularly true for parents who are about to have their baby this month and next month, and who are making decisions about where they'd best like to do that.
Thank you.