Urgent care clinics fail to meet promised opening hours

Two more urgent care clinics have opened in Queensland, but they fall short of Labor’s pledge at the federal election.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits the Woolloongabba urgent care clinic earlier this month. Picture: Dan Peled/NCA NewsWire

Two more urgent care clinics have opened in Queensland, operating at less than the promised 14 hours a day promised during the election – including a new facility in southern Brisbane.

The Brisbane South urgent care clinic at Woolloongabba opened on Monday, Health Minister Mark Butler will announce, saying it will take pressure off Mater Hospital, Queensland Children’s Hospital, and the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Both Brisbane South and the recently opened Murrumba Downs clinics will only be open from 8am to 8pm, not until 10pm as promised, it can be revealed.

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

The Browns Plains clinic is also only open for reduced hours, though Mr Butler has previously said it is expected to increase its opening hours by the end of the month, while the Ipswich and Toowoomba clinics are open for the full hours.

Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dr Maria Boulton said the clinics in Queensland and interstate were struggling to find the workforce to remain open for the full 14 hours promised.

“These clinics may reduce the number of patients in emergency department waiting rooms, but they are unlikely to reduce the pressure on EDs,” she said.

“If they were going to properly serve communities, it would make more sense for these clinics to be open from 3pm to midnight, not at the same time existing general practices are open.”

But Mr Butler said three clinics, Browns Plains, Ipswich and Murrumba Downs, had already seen more than 2200 patients in the 10 weeks since the first had opened.

“UCCs are taking pressure off Queensland hospitals and ensuring patients get the urgent care they need when and where they need it,” Mr Butler said.

“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.”

State Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said the Brisbane South clinic would provide free, high-quality health care.

“Together with the state government’s satellite hospital program across the southeast, Medicare Urgent Care Clinics will ease pressures on our busy hospitals,” she said.

Opposition health spokeswoman Senator Anne Ruston said it was a blatant disregard for the headline health promise they made at the election.

Opposition health spokeswoman Senator Anne Ruston

“They have failed to ensure even half of the urgent care clinics operating in Queensland are open for extended hours, which is far from providing the improved access to healthcare they promised,” Senator Ruston said.

“With another clinic opened in Murrumba Downs, we see another example of this clear failure to deliver on their election promise.”

Four of the 11 promised urgent care clinics, intended to take pressure off overburdened emergency rooms, have been opened in Queensland so far.

The final six Queensland UCCs in Bundaberg, Cairns, Gold Coast, Northern Brisbane, Rockhampton and Townsville, are expected to open before the end of the year.