The Albanese Government has delivered on its commitment to the people in Hobart, who will have access to two fully bulk billed Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.
Your Hobart Doctor on Bathurst Street is open now and the provider for the second Hobart Medicare UCC has been finalised with Ochre Medical Centre to become operational in September this year.
The clinics will be open extended hours, seven days a week, easing pressure on Royal Hobart Hospital.
More than 40 per cent of presentations at Royal Hobart Hospital emergency department are for semi and non-urgent conditions.
Highly trained doctors and nurses will provide care at the Medicare UCCs, with no need for an appointment.
The Hobart Medicare UCCs join the Launceston Medicare UCC which started seeing patients on 31 July. The Northwest Medicare UCC will be opened by the end of 2023.
The Hobart Medicare UCCs delivers on the Albanese Government’s commitment to make it easier for Tasmanians to get the urgent treatment they need while taking pressure off hospitals.
The Government is working closely with the Tasmanian Government and Primary Health Tasmania to ensure the Hobart Medicare UCC complements local health services and meets the needs of the community.
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
“The Hobart Medicare UCCs will make a big difference to patients, and enable families to walk in and receive convenient, high-quality care from a nurse or a doctor.
“We’ve worked closely with the Tasmanian Government to ensure the Medicare UCCs align with local health services and the needs of communities across the state.
“The Hobart Medicare UCCs are just another way the Government is strengthening Medicare and making it easier to see a doctor.”
Quotes attributable to Minister Collins:
“These Urgent Care Clinics will ensure local families can get bulk billed care when they need it, without an appointment.
“When you have a deep cut, or when your child breaks their arm, you can head straight to the clinic rather than spend hours in the hospital waiting room.
“The Medicare UCCs will help take pressure off the Royal Hobart Hospital and its hard-working doctors and nurses, so that they can focus on higher-priority emergencies and life-saving care.”
Quotes attributable to Minister Barnett:
“I’ve heard from people right here in Hobart how difficult it can be to access medical care when they have a pressing health concern, but they can’t get in to see a GP.
“Most people in this situation end up in the emergency department, or, worse, they simply go without care.
“The Hobart UCCs will ease pressure on our local ED and be much more convenient for our community – closer to home, at short notice, and free under Medicare.”
