The Albanese Government is delivering on its commitment for a further 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics with a tender process now commenced to identify providers to operate the Buderim, Caloundra and Gladstone clinics.
These new clinics will give Queenslanders more access to high quality and free walk-in urgent health care.
The new Buderim, Caloundra, and Gladstone Medicare Urgent Care Clinics will be open over extended hours, seven days a week, with no appointment needed, and all patients will be fully bulk billed.
These clinics are intended to take pressure off local hospitals, including the Sunshine Coast University Hospital and Gladstone Hospital.
The tender process, led by the Central Queensland, Wide Bay, Sunshine Coast Primary Health Network, will identify providers to operate the new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics in Queensland.
This tender process will be open to general practices, community health centres and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and will close by mid-September.
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 344,500 presentations to the 16 existing Queensland Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.
The new Buderim, Caloundra, and Gladstone Medicare Urgent Care Clinics will be open over extended hours, seven days a week, with no appointment needed, and all patients will be fully bulk billed.
These clinics are intended to take pressure off local hospitals, including the Sunshine Coast University Hospital and Gladstone Hospital.
Over 29 per cent of presentations to Medicare Urgent Care Clinics in Queensland have been outside standard business hours, which means the clinics are filling an important gap in services across extended hours and over the weekend.
And with over 1 in 4 visits treating a young person under 15, Queensland Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are giving families timely health care and peace of mind.
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
"We know the existing Queensland Medicare Urgent Care Clinics have been a game changer for their communities.
"By offering free, high-quality care every day and into the evenings, Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are easing pressure on emergency departments and improving patient access.
"They are a key part of the Albanese Government's efforts to strengthen Medicare and make health care more accessible and affordable."
Quotes attributable to Senator Chisholm:
"More than 1.7 million presentations since 2023 shows the real impact our Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are having on communities throughout Queensland.
"With the tender process now underway in these three thriving communities, we're a step closer to providing better healthcare for local families.
"And as demand at our hospitals continues to grow, it's essential we continue in our efforts to deliver high-quality healthcare that is accessible and affordable for all Australians."
Quotes attributable to Senator Mulholland:
"We made an election commitment to deliver Urgent Care Clinics for Buderim and Caloundra and we are delivering.
"Labor's Urgent Care Clinics will help ensure health services keep pace with the pressures of booming population growth that Sunshine Coast communities are experiencing, because we know the pressures that the Sunshine Coast University Hospital and Nambour hospital are already facing.
"These new facilities will help bridge the gap in Australia's healthcare by giving locals alternative medical facilities for non-life-threatening cases, in turn freeing up beds and demand at local hospitals to make the workload of nurses and doctors more sustainable.
"I've heard directly from locals about the wait times they face getting an appointment to see a GP, especially after hours or on weekends, so we've designed Labor's Urgent Care Clinics in direct response to that need."
