Treatment room nurse Brittney and paramedic Meagan Dawson are members of the multidisciplinary team at Dapto Medicare Urgent Care Clinic. Photo: COORDINARE.
A veteran paramedic with nine years on the road has traded the ambulance for the clinic, as the Dapto Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) adopts a new staffing model to ease the pressure on local emergency departments.
Meagan Dawson, who served with NSW and Queensland ambulance services, is the latest specialist to join the Dapto team permanently, marking a shift in how Illawarra residents receive urgent medical attention.
Her transition is part of a broader rollout across south-east NSW, where paramedics are now being embedded in clinics to provide rapid assessment and life-saving expertise in a community setting.
“I think the benefit of having us here is we are able to identify patients who are very unwell or rapidly deteriorating quite quickly and redirect them for more appropriate care,” she said.
“Paramedics are experienced in working with more severe, urgent, life-threatening cases where you have to make rapid decisions about treatment and where a patient needs to go.
“In urgent care, it’s a steadier pace and a more controlled environment in collaboration with doctors and registered nurses, whereas ambulance paramedics need to be able to work autonomously and make quick clinical decisions.”
The initiative — a collaboration between the Australasian College of Paramedicine, South Eastern NSW Primary Health Network COORDINARE, South West Sydney Primary Health Network and ForHealth Group — has integrated paramedics into five of south-east NSW’s seven Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) since December 2025.
The move comes as the Illawarra’s healthcare system faces record demand.
COORDINARE’s Acting CEO Juanita Murphy said innovative staffing models were essential to maintaining high-quality care as the healthcare system faced unprecedented demand and workforce shortages.
“Bolstering the workforce strengthens each clinic’s capacity to deliver timely, high-quality holistic care to patients with urgent but non-life-threatening conditions,” she said.
Beyond improving patient flow, the initiative also addresses the growing need for sustainable career pathways within the paramedic profession.
“This is a great opportunity for paramedics interested in more flexible working arrangements and the opportunity to diversify their role and work to their full scope of practice,” Ms Murphy said.
This could have positive implications for the retention of skilled paramedics like Ms Dawson, offering a steadier pace and a more sustainable lifestyle.
“The most appealing thing about working in urgent care is the better work-life balance and no night shifts,” Ms Dawson said.
Visit Health Direct to find your nearest Urgent Care Clinic.
Original Article published by Dione David on Region Illawarra.
