Free clinic opens at Gympie Hospital to ease wait times

The new clinic is expected to reduce the strain on both the hospital’s emergency department and local GPs.

Nursing coordinators and support workers at Gympie emergency department. L-R: Samantha Ward, Sarah Cochrane, Schloe Veale. Picture: provided.

After almost a year of waiting, Gympie is finally getting a free nurse-led, walk-in clinic.

It will look to funnel less serious medical cases away from the emergency waiting room at Gympie Hospital.

The service has been in the works for some time, since the Miles Government announced last year that Gympie Hospital would be one of four in Queensland to feature a nurse-led, walk-in clinic.

Open Monday to Saturday, the clinic offers free healthcare to adults and children over two years — even without a Medicare card, a Sunshine Coast Health spokeswoman said.

There are only four of these types of clinics in Qld, with two in Brisbane, and the one other in Gladstone.

“The clinic is staffed by three registered nurses, with one nurse practitioner and administration support,” the spokeswoman said.

The clinic is a complimentary service to not only the ED, but to primary care GPs also.

The three-nurse team is able to support a variety of non-life-threatening complications, from fevers, coughs and colds to emergency contraception, the spokeswoman said.

“Our emergency departments are getting busier, and it’s important that we look at alternative models of care, so more of our communities have access to the care they need,” she said.

“Currently, Gympie Hospital sees almost 50 less urgent category four and five patients each day and these patients may be able to be seen at the Nurse-Led Walk-In Clinic.”