Urgent care clinic opening times failure blamed on staff shortages

Fewer than one in four urgent care clinics are open the full extended hours originally promised by Labor, with health staff shortages blamed for the failure.

Fewer than one in four urgent care clinics are open the full extended hours originally promised by Labor, with health staff shortages blamed for the failure.

The Albanese Government claims the opening of 58 after-hours bulk billed GP clinics last year delivers on a key election commitment, despite only 14 of the facilities operating from 8am to 10pm seven days a week as pledged during the campaign.

Analysis of the clinics has found one in Queensland is closed every weekend, another in NSW is shut Friday and Sunday, while 13 across Australia are closed by 6pm or earlier on weekdays, and eight don’t open until midday or later every day.

Designed to ease pressure on hospital emergency departments, the walk-in Medicare clinics can treat urgent, but non-life threatening, illnesses and injuries like viral infections and broken bones.

Health Minister Mark Butler said more than 130,000 visits had been made to the clinics since June last year, including about a third on weekends and one in five after 6pm.

Health Minister Mark Butler says workforce shortages meant not all clinics were open for as long as Labor would like. Picture: NCA Newswire/ Gaye Gerard

He blamed health staff shortages for the reduced opening hours at many clinics.

“I’ve been quite open that a number of the clinics will take a little while to attract the workforce to ensure that they operate at every single hour that we’d like them to,” he said.

“But in the meantime, we’re working very closely with local hospital systems and with the Primary Health Networks … to make sure that the opening hours do match the peak levels or peak demand at local hospital emergency departments.”

Mr Butler said similar clinics in New Zealand had been proven to reduce hospital presentations, but there was not yet comparable data for Australia.

“It’s very early days, many of these clinics have only been operating for weeks, or at most, months,” he said.

He said the Logan and Ipswich hospitals in Queensland had recorded a 10 and 25 per cent reduction in “non-urgent or semi-urgent” emergency department presentations respectively since the urgent care clinics opened nearby.

The urgent care clinic in Townsville is open 11am to 9pm. Picture: Leighton Smith.

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said hospital waiting times and ramping had “never been worse” despite promises the urgent care clinics would relieve pressure.

“The fact that 44 of the 58 are not open the promised hours of 8am-10pm and some don’t even have a doctor on staff proves that this is another broken promise,” she said.

Coalition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston says the shorter opening hours are a ‘broken promise’ from Labor. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Ms Ruston said the Coalition supported Australian being able to get easier and cheaper access to their doctor, which meant staff shortages must be fixed.

“The biggest issue that’s facing our healthcare sector at the moment is workforce, and the government’s failure to address this is making the current primary care crisis worse,” she said.

None of the 14 urgent care clinics in NSW are open the hours first promised by Labor, with regional areas the least likely to have extended opening times.

The Albury clinic only operates from 10am to 2pm on weekends, while the Lake Haven, Lismore, Tamworth and Coffs Harbour clinics are all closed by 5pm on the weekend.

The urgent care clinic in Elizabeth in Adelaide is open 10am to 8pm. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Morgan Sette

Three of the 11 clinics in Queensland are open 8am to 10pm, but hours are limited in regional areas with the facility at Bundaberg closed all weekend.

None of the five facilities in South Australia or four in Tasmania are open the full hours, with most clinics opening at 10am or later.

Of the 10 clinics in Victoria, half are open 8am to 10pm, while another clinic is open 10am to midnight.

The rest close around 8pm.

In WA none of the seven clinics are open the full extended hours.

All five Medicare urgent care clinics in the ACT are open 7.30am to 10pm seven days a week, however these facilities are nurse-led and do not have doctors.

In the Northern Territory the Palmerston clinic only opens from 2.30pm to 8.30pm on weekdays, midday to 6pm and 10am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

The Alice Springs clinic only opens at midday and is closed by 8pm on weekdays and 4pm on weekends.