Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our government is strengthening Medicare by ensuring that all Australians have access to affordable primary care services when they need them, and I'm really excited to share that Chisholm now has a Medicare urgent care clinic. Medicare urgent care clinics are a game changer for communities around the country. Having a Medicare urgent care clinic located right in the heart of my electorate means locals can get the care they need and be on the mend quickly without paying a cent. The Chisholm Medicare urgent care clinic is fully bulk-billed, which means that people in our community just need a Medicare card, not their credit card. It's important that people don't worry about the costs to visit urgent care clinics because it means they can instead focus on getting better soon and focus on their health. This clinic will help reduce the number of people attending the local emergency department for urgent-but-non-life-threatening conditions like sprains, infections, rashes, minor illnesses, burns or cuts.

Over 40 per cent of Medicare urgent care clinic presentations in Victoria have been outside standard business hours, which shows that the clinic is filling an important gap in services across extended hours and over the weekend, with the clinic open from 9 am to 11 pm seven days a week. Everyone from our community can walk in and get the urgent care they need, fully bulk-billed, without waiting hours in a busy hospital emergency department.

I have already received really positive feedback from the Chisholm community about this news and their experiences. I want to share the story of Chisholm local Michelle, who visited the Medicare urgent care clinic over the weekend. Michelle told me that she had a cough and a fever. She went to the urgent care clinic and was able to simply walk in and get attended to promptly and very kindly by a doctor, who she described as amazing.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those opposite are laughing for some reason about the fact that we're really standing up universal health care in this country. Unbelievable.

Michelle, though, was able to get a diagnosis and get treated. She was really grateful to be able to see a doctor in person so promptly. She said she was thankful to the urgent care clinic for making her life easier. Her appointment was fully bulk-billed. I know what a positive impact this urgent care clinic will continue to have for our community in Chisholm and for people just like Michelle.

The Albanese Labor government is working hard to strengthen Medicare and keep the cost of medicines down. We are freezing the cost of PBS prescriptions. We will always fight—and I will always fight—for affordable, accessible, quality health care for people in our Chisholm community.