The Albanese Government is delivering on its commitment for a further 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics with a tender process now underway to identify a provider to operate the Bathurst clinic.
The new Bathurst Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will be open over extended hours, seven days a week, with no appointment needed, and all patients will be fully bulk billed.
The clinic is intended to take pressure off Bathurst Base Hospital and will fill an important gap in services across extended hours and over the weekend.
A tender process led by the Western New South Wales Primary Health Network have commenced to identify providers to operate the new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Bathurst.
The tender process will be open to general practices, community health centres and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services.
Ninety Medicare Urgent Care Clinics have opened across Australia, which have already seen more than 1.8 million presentations since the first sites opened in June 2023, including over 361,000 presentations to the 22 existing New South Wales Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.
Over 22 per cent of presentations to Medicare Urgent Care Clinics in New South Wales have been outside standard business hours, which means the clinics are filling an important gap in services across extended hours and over the weekend.
Over one in four visits to Medicare Urgent Care Clinics in New South Wales have taken place on a weekend, while one in five weekday visits took place at 5pm or later.
And with one in four visits treating a young person under 15, New South Wales Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are giving families timely health care and peace of mind.
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
"The Albanese Government is delivering more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics for regional New South Wales.
"The Bathurst Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will give locals access to the urgent care they need seven days a week, over extended hours.
"All locals will need to visit the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is their Medicare card, not their credit card."
Quotes attributable to Senator Deborah O'Neill, Senator for NSW:
"This is great news for everyone in Bathurst and the Central West.
"This is the next step in delivering on the Labor Government's commitment to the Urgent Care Clinic in Bathurst, which will provide timely access to the right level of health care when people need it.
"For too long, people in regional New South Wales have been missing out.
"Labor is all about delivering the services people need, where they need it, especially in our regions."
