Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

When I speak to the people in Boothby, I constantly hear about how it's never been harder to see a GP than it is right now. Ten years of cuts to Medicare and the pressures of the pandemic have meant it's harder than ever to get in to see your GP and gap fees are higher than ever before. This is especially challenging when it comes to those non-life-threatening-but-urgent emergencies which are all too common. We know that roughly half of all emergency room presentations are classified as non-urgent, because, if you can't see your GP quickly, you end up there. Of course, the emergency department needs to treat the life-threatening emergencies first, so the urgent-but-non-life threatening cases have to wait hour upon hour. That's why the announcement of an urgent-care centre in Boothby is an welcome step in addressing ED congestion and getting treatment for the people of Boothby faster. On 24 February, Minister Mark Butler called for expressions of interest for the urgent-care clinic in Boothby to support the Flinders Medical Centre ED. This bulk-billed, after-hours urgent-care clinic will transform the way people receive care in Boothby. From my background working in the health sector, I'm sure this exciting step will kick-start the important process of taking pressure off our local emergency departments and increasing accessibility of primary health care for those who need it most, providing the long-awaited relief people in Boothby have been asking for.

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