Private hospital offer to accommodate urgent care clinic rejected

A private hospital and health centre has been told it does not meet the criteria to open an urgent care clinic which would take pressure off the public health system in Bundaberg. Vote in our poll:

The Friendly Society Private Hospital CEO Michelle Thompson said the hospital could already be treating patients.

A major Bundaberg hospital has been told it does not meet the requirements to host an urgent care clinic in the city.

Only a handful of the 11 urgent care clinics promised for Queensland during the federal election have so far been rolled out - and none of those in Bundaberg.

The clinics were expected to operate on extended hours, seven days a week offering bulk-billed health care for conditions such as sprains, broken bones, stitches for cuts, wound care, minor burns, insect bites and minor ear and eye problems under the guidance of nurses and doctors.

Friendly Society Private Hospital.

Bundaberg Friendlies Society Private Hospital applied to accommodate a clinic on March 22, 2023 but says it was rejected on April 19, 2023.

The hospital was told its location and the fact it was not a general practice was the reason for the rejection.

Friendlies CEO Michelle Thompson said she and her board were disappointed by the rejection.

“If we had have been successful, we have the infrastructure that enables us to commence the service immediately,” she said.

“We are ideally placed to deliver the service and to achieve the best outcomes for the community, as well as reducing the pressure on the public health system and general practice.”

When the Department of Health and Aged Care was asked to explain why it rejected the application, a spokesperson said the program was geared towards GPs.

“While alternative models will be considered where there are no suitable general practices, the policy is for preference to be given to general practice models in the first instance,” they said.

As there has not been a suitable practice awarded, Mrs Thompson said the hospital would have happily hosted the urgent care clinic until a more ideal option was identified.
“In regional remote Australia, innovative models of care have to be developed to meet the community’s needs and these factors should be considered when awarding contracts for the provision of urgent care centres,” she said.

“Let’s work together. Let’s work with general practices and the Bundaberg Hospital, with community health care providers in the region to make it happen.”