A seventh Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) for Western Australia has been confirmed at the Kimberley Medical Group general practice, that will support Broome and surrounding areas.
Expected to open from 28 December 2023, the clinic will provide treatment for urgent, but not life-threatening, illnesses and injuries requiring same day assessment for people who may otherwise have visited an emergency department.
Like all Medicare UCCs, the clinic will bulk bill, be open seven days a week and accept walk in patients.
In developing the model of care for the Broome Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, local stakeholders were consulted to ensure local workforce challenges were taken into consideration.
The result is an innovative and sustainable mode of care, including in person and, if required, telehealth consultations that will ensure patients can access the clinic seven days a week and receive high quality urgent care.
The clinic will send a treatment summary to the patient’s usual GP, if they have one, to ensure continuity of care.
Broome Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is one of seven clinics being established in WA as part of a national Australian Government initiative to establish 58 Medicare UCCs nationally, offering vital, timely and affordable health care to thousands of Australians.
WA Primary Health Alliance CEO, Learne Durrington, said Kimberley Medical Centre practice principal, Dr Jo Baker and her team have worked closely with WA Primary Health Alliance as have other local health stakeholders to establish a viable and sustainable model for the Broome Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.
“Similar models of urgent care have been proven to work well in other locations and we are confident this will also be the case in Broome.”
Find out more about WA’s Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.