Opening hours at Qld urgent care clinics failing to meet poll pledge

Queensland has only two of 11 urgent care clinics promised by the Albanese Government, with half of those not open for the 14-hours-a-day committed to during the election.

Queensland has just two of the 11 urgent care clinics promised by the Albanese Government so far – and half of those are not open for the 14 hours a day committed to during the election.

The Browns Plain urgent care clinic, opened last month in the Treasurer's electorate of Rankin, has failed to meet the extended hours of 8am to 10pm promised by Labor during the election, as a way to take pressure off overburdened emergency rooms.

The extended hours were seen as a way of diverting people with minor injuries or ailments away from hospitals at peak times.

But the Browns Plains UCC is only open 8am to 8pm – two hours short a day of the commitment, while the Ipswich UCC is open for the full 8am to 10pm.

Health Minister Mark Butler. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

There were similar issues with urgent care clinics in Victoria, where at one point four of the nine operational clinics were running with shorter hours.

The Opposition Health spokeswoman Senator Anne Ruston said the government had failed to deliver its promise on time, but Health Minister Mark Butler said the clinics were already making a big difference in Queensland.

Health Minister Mark Butler the Browns Plains clinic was expected to start “scaling up” to the full 14-hour day from October 30.

“The two clinics that have been open only for a matter of weeks, Browns Plains and Ipswich, have already seen close to 1000 patients,” he said.

“They are taking pressure off their local hospitals and ensuring patients get the urgent care they need when and where they need it.”

He said the remaining nine clinics would be open before the end of the year, but did not guarantee they would all be open for the full 8am to 10pm time frame.

“Specific opening hours for each Medicare UCC are based on the local context, including workforce availability, emergency department peak hours, and to be responsive to the needs of the community,” Mr Butler said.

“In some cases, Medicare UCCs will be open for reduced hours initially while the model is bedded down in the local context.”

Opposition Health spokeswoman Senator Anne Ruston. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Senator Ruston said Labor had blatantly broken its promise on urgent care clinics.

“Now, we are seeing the impact of this broken promise on Urgent Care Clinics across Queensland, which are not open for the extended hours required to adequately relieve pressure on the hospital system,” Senator Ruston said.

“The Queensland health system is in crisis, but the Albanese Government is proving once again that Labor only prioritises health during election campaigns.

“Not only has the Albanese government failed to ensure that all Urgent Care Clinics will be open during the promised extended hours, but they have also failed to deliver their election promise on time.”

Mr Butler said during the election the 50 promised clinics would by open from July 1, but he has since disputed this and said it would be by the end of the calendar year.

During the 2022 election, the Australian Medical Association’s Dr Chris Moy described the urgent care clinic policy as “barely coherent” and warned that if they were put in the wrong locations, they could end up undermining existing practices.