Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I can hear Senator Henderson. She does not like urgent care clinics, does not like people being able to access health care. I know I should not respond to interjections but Senator Henderson is such a serial offender. These are highly popular models of care. Highly trained doctors and nurses provide care at the Medicare urgent care clinics with no need for an appointment—again, very convenient for busy families on the go. Urgent care clinics deliver service from the time people walk in right through to addressing the health issues so they can leave without putting pressure on the emergency departments. Last week in Tasmania, the Prime Minister officially open the Medicare urgent care clinic at Your Hobart Doctor on Bathurst Street. In its first two weeks, Senator Polley, it has seen 400 patients.