Federal government meets promised deadline as urgent care clinic in Broome opens its doors

A long-awaited urgent care clinic in Broome will be opening to patients this Thursday, just in time for the end-of-year deadline promised by the Albanese Government. The Broome clinic is the seventh to open in WA, with centres in Beeliar, Bunbury, Clarkson, Midland, Perth and Rockingham already taking patients earlier this year. One of Labor’s signature election commitments, the bulk-billed clinics are designed to ease the pressure on hospital emergency departments by treating patients with minor injuries and ailments. The clinics, which don’t require appointments, are open seven days a week and for extended hours, allowing people to seek medical treatment from providers other than their general practitioners. The new Broome centre will be run by the Kimberley Medical Group and is expected to make a major difference, with more than 70 per cent of current presentations to the local hospital for non-urgent or semi-urgent care. “When your kid falls off their new Christmas bike, or you get a deep cut on a rock down the beach, instead of spending hours at the emergency department you’ll be able to come to a Medicare UCC,” Health Minister Mark Butler said. New government figures show that almost one in three patients turning up at urgent care clinics are children under 15. Almost one in three presentations are on the weekend, while one in five visits on weekdays occur after hours - at 6pm or later. Another clinic will also open on Thursday in South Australia – the last of the Government’s 58 promised centres to start treating patients.