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

I thank Senator Bilyk for the supplementary. It's really important that the Medicare urgent care clinics are integrated with the services provided by GPs and by hospital EDs. Through working closely with the states and territories, we're ensuring that services provided from the Medicare urgent care clinics are responsive to the needs of local communities. We're also working with GPs and PHNs to ensure the urgent care clinics are set up to deliver the end-to-end care that people need. By working to ensure quality of services provided by the urgent care clinics, we will help ease pressure on hospital emergency departments, which we know that we have to do. In New South Wales, for example, it's estimated that almost half of emergency departments to New South Wales—

President, I can't even hear myself think because of Senator Ruston. I can't.

Honourable senators interjecting—