Walk-in Health Centres are being rolled out to provide accessible public health care across Canberra's suburbs.
Work is underway to build on the ACT's existing networks of Walk-in Centres and Community Health Centres, including expanding the available services and establishing a new Walk-in Health Centre at Coombs to serve residents of the Molonglo Valley.
The five nurse-led Walk-in Centres across the city already provide excellent care for injuries and illness including colds and flu, sprains and strains, skin conditions and rashes, and minor wounds and infections.
In 2020-21 the ACT Government will invest $10.9 million to include outpatient imaging services at the Weston Creek Walk-in Centre to reduce wait times in emergency and make it easier for the community to access common diagnostic imaging services.
The government will also invest $2 million to undertake feasibility and site selection work for four new Walk-in Health Centres in South Tuggeranong, West Belconnen, Inner South, and North Gungahlin.
We will establish the first new Walk-in Health Centre in Coombs, where it will be co-located with the National Health Co-op GP clinic. The centre is on track to be open on 1 July 2021.
This will support the Molonglo regions growing population and provide local families with a range of maternal and child health services.
We will be working with communities in each of the five areas to ensure each local Walk-in Health Centre caters to the needs of our diverse regions and neighbourhoods.
These centres will build on our existing Walk-In Centres and Community Health Centres to deliver free and convenient public healthcare, where and when Canberrans need it.
The new Walk-in Health Centre locations will ensure we achieve a good geographical spread of services close to where people live, especially in areas of future growth. They will provide immediate care as well as appointment-based services.
The feasibility study will investigate the potential to provide preventive health services, early intervention, and integrated care in the new centres.
Our existing Walk-in Centres take pressure off our emergency departments and have been there when we needed them most, including providing vital testing for COVID-19 in the case of the Weston Creek Walk-in Centre.
