Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Hansard source

We now know that nearly half of all patients who attended a Medicare urgent care clinic would have used a hospital emergency department if no clinic were available. Two weeks ago, Tasmania's five Medicare urgent care clinics treated 1,586 patients. This is more than the Royal Hobart Hospital emergency department and nearly double Launceston General Hospital. Urgent care clinics don't just provide relief for public hospitals; they take pressure off general practice right across the country too because their extended opening hours provide services when regular GP practices are closed. Nearly 30 per cent of visits to Medicare urgent care clinics have taken place on weekends, and 25 per cent of patients have attended after 5 pm on weekdays. These clinics are filling a gap in our healthcare system, and they are giving our hospitals and GPs the support they need.