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

MILLER-FROST () (): My community of Boothby has welcomed the recent opening of the urgent care clinic at Marion Domain Medical and Dental Centre. Situated near Flinders Medical Centre, this service provides a bulk-billing alternative for people with urgent but not life-threatening conditions so they can get seen faster and more appropriately.

Flinders Medical Centre is the major tertiary hospital south of Adelaide. It provides services to people in Boothby, Kingston and Mayo, which can make for a really hectic emergency department unless your condition is life-threatening. The urgent care clinic means people can be seen faster. But, importantly, it frees up emergency department doctors and nurses to focus on the life-threatening issues.

Jess, the state manager for ForHealth, the parent body of Marion Domain, told me that they have six urgent care clinics open interstate and that in the first six months they saw 40,000 people. That's 40,000 fewer people in emergency departments and ambulance queues, and that's a great outcome. Urgent care clinics are a great initiative. They speed up our health system and cut down on ambulance ramping and on the long waits in emergency departments.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 43, the time for members' statements has concluded.