THE state government will fund new “urgent care” centres across the state in a bid to ease the pressure on emergency departments.
Frankston will host one of 25 new urgent care centres set up across Victoria. Premier Daniel Andrews announced the establishment of the new centres in a joint press conference with New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet last week.
“Around the country, the pandemic has put enormous pressure on healthcare systems. Part of that is because, through no fault of their own, people have delayed going to their GP and accessing primary care,” Andrews said.
“Every day, it gets harder to access a bulk-billing GP. Victoria and New South Wales are doing something about it. We know and appreciate that the Commonwealth are investigating longer-term support for primary care, but we also know we need to act now to support healthcare systems across Australia’s two biggest states.”
The centres will be staffed by GPs, and equipped to handle infections, fractures, burns, and other urgent issues. They will operate for extended hours, and services will be free upon presentation of a Medicare card.
Earlier this year the state government announced it would convert Frankston Private Hopsital into a public surgery centre. At Frankston Hospital, work is underway on a major $1.18 billion upgrade (“Billion dollar bill for hospital redevelopment” The Times 11/5/22).
More than 486,000 people turned up at Victorian emergency departments in the most recent recorded quarter. That figure is an increase of 5.1 per cent on the previous quarter.
Victorian health minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the establishment of new urgent care centres will “free up beds in the ED for those with the most critical needs” and “fast track non-emergency patients so they can receive the treatment they need in a more comfortable setting.”
Along with the centre partnering Frankston Hospital, other centres will be set up by Bendigo Hospital, Casey Hospital, Albury Wodonga Health, Austin Hospital, Alfred Hospital, Dandenong Hospital, Latrobe Regional Hospital, Werribee Mercy Hospital, and Box Hill Hospital. There will also be 25 new urgent care centres set up across New South Wales.
An opening date for the centres was not announced.