Victoria is partnering with New South Wales to expand their services of urgent care across both States as a way of easing their record levels of demand on busy emergency departments as a result of COVID-19.
Announcing the partnership, Premier Daniel Andrews said Victoria and NSW would each establish 25 urgent care services in partnership with chosen General Practitioners (GPs).
“The services will help ease pressure on emergency departments, give people faster care for urgent but non-critical conditions and free up critical resources for patients with more serious needs,” Mr Andrews said.
“The GP-partnered services will be well equipped to handle conditions such as mild infections, fractures and burns,” he said.
“Services will operate for extended hours and patients will not be charged for services provided by GPs.”
Mr Andrews said patients without a Medicare card would also be able to access the services free of charge.
He said that as part of the package in Victoria, 10 centres would be established to partner with Frankston Hospital, Bendigo Hospital, Casey Hospital, Albury Wodonga Health, Austin Hospital, Alfred Hospital, Dandenong Hospital, Latrobe Regional Hospital, Werribee Mercy Hospital and Box Hill Hospital.
Mr Andrews said another 10 Victorian locations would be announced soon.
“Every day, it gets harder to access a bulk-billing GP,” the Premier said.
“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,” he said.
