Since opening nearly two years ago, the Ipswich Medicare Urgent Care Clinic has had more than 18,000 visits, bolstering the region’s health services and diverting patients from the Ipswich Hospital Emergency Department.
The Ipswich Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) opened its doors in August 2023, delivering on the Albanese Labor Government’s commitment to make it easier for locals to see a doctor or nurse for urgent care.
The largest proportion of patients at the clinic in that time have been children, with almost one in three visits from people aged under 15 years old.
Almost one in three visits have taken place on the weekend, and over one in four were after 5pm on weekdays.
Common presentations have been for conditions including upper respiratory tract infections, lacerations, and urinary tract infections.
Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann said the latest data showed that Medicare UCCs were very popular with patients, with more and more Australians taking advantage of the free service.
“Medicare Urgent Care Clinics have just reached a new milestone, with over 1.5 million Australians getting free urgent care, without waiting hours in a hospital emergency department,” Mr Neumann said.
“In other words, in two short years, Medicare Urgent Care Clinics have become a vital part of Australia’s health system and clocked up 1.5 million free visits.
“They’re starting to take the pressure off hospitals and patients, delivering fully bulk billed care quickly with no appointment needed, and this is saving the health system an estimated $254 million in avoided hospital visits.
“By July next year, another 50 Urgent Care Clinics will open their doors to patients, expanding the network to 137 clinics across the country, including one in Goodna, also in the Ipswich region.”
The interim report of an evaluation of Medicare UCCs found that nearly half of all patients who attended a clinic would have gone to a hospital emergency department (ED) if a UCC was not available.
The report found the average hospital visit costs $616 to deliver – more than double the $246 that the average UCC visit costs.
Every time a Medicare UCC helps someone to avoid an unnecessary trip to hospital, an Australian gets free urgent care and the health system saves $368 a presentation.
The interim report also found people wait for half as long to be treated at a UCC as they would in a hospital ED and are almost three times more likely to be seen within the first 60 minutes.
Mr Neumann said Ipswich’s UCC had contributed to a reduction in presentations to the Ipswich Hospital ED, with nearly 40% of Ipswich UCC patients reporting they would have visited the ED if the UCC was not available.
“I was proud to open the Ipswich Urgent Care Clinic in 2023 – delivering on an important commitment I made to the people of Blair at the 2022 election,” he said.
“This is allowing local families have access to a bulk billing doctor close to home when they need it, helping to ease cost of living pressures. All they need is their Medicare card.”
The Ipswich Medicare UCC is located at the Riverlink Medical & Dental Centre, North Ipswich, and open seven days a week with extended hours, offering walk-in care that is fully bulk billed.
