Wollongong promised urgent care clinic in Labor’s $135 million election pledge

Wollongong Hospital has been pushed to its limits for years, however, Labor is hoping one of its 50 urgent care clinics will ease some of the burden on the region’s health system.

Labor continues to push its $135 million urgent care clinic trial with local members announcing one will be coming to Wollongong if they’re elected on Saturday.

State Keira MP and Labor’s health spokesman Ryan Park was joined by Member for Whitlam Stephen Jones and Labor’s Cunningham candidate Alison Byrnes to make the pledge which they argue will take some strain off the overburdened Wollongong Hospital.

The Illawarra already has an “urgent care centre” based out of Bulli Hospital, however, Labor is looking to lean on the infrastructure of existing GP surgeries and healthcare centres for their urgent care clinics.

The urgent care clinics would open seven days a week from 8am to 10pm and be bulk-billed through Medicare under Labor’s four-year trial.

“The urgent Medicare care clinic will help with treating cuts, sprains, strains, bruises and insect bites,” Ms Byrnes said.

“It will help take some of the local pressure off our local health system, particularly our emergency departments that are really struggling.”

“We’ve got one at Bulli, but the Labor urgent Medicare care clinics are actually located in GP clinics, surgeries and community health centres and they will be bulk-billed clinics.”

Mr Park said multiple approaches would be required to address ongoing congestion of health services in the Illawarra.

“It will support the existing resources we have in the Illawarra,” he said.

“It has been difficult to attract doctors to the Bulli Hospital site, but this is a slightly different model where we’re basing it out of GP premises and working with those local GPs.

“What we know about Wollongong emergency department is it is one of the biggest and busiest in NSW.

“We need to look at a range of different issues to make sure those sprains, those abrasions, those minor ailments people often have can be dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible without having to access the hospital.”

Labor has committed to funding 50 of the clinics throughout Australia, but the exact sites are still to be determined.