Umina chosen for Urgent Care Clinic
The Peninsula will be one of just 14 locations in NSW for a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, it was announced last week.
The Peninsula clinic will be established at Providence Medical Umina, in West St, and will start accepting patients in November.
The other clinic on the Coast will be at Lake Haven at Coastal Lakes Medical Practice.
The clinics are designed to make it easier for people "to get the urgent treatment they need from highly qualified doctors and nurses, while taking pressure off the Gosford and Wyong Hospitals", said Member for Robertson Dr Gordon Reid.
They will be open for extended hours, seven days a week, and will offer walk-in care that is fully bulk billed.
"Over half of presentations to the Gosford and Wyong Hospital emergency departments are for non-urgent or semi-urgent care," he said.
"I know many families who have had to wait long hours in the emergency department for non-life-threatening issues, like sutures for minor wounds, imaging, and pathology.
"The Peninsula Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will help ease the pressure on our local health services and be much more convenient for our community - and bulk billed under Medicare."
Assistant Health Minister Ms Emma McBride, Member for Dobell, joined Dr Reid to make the announcement in Umina last Wednesday, September 27.
Primary Health Network chief executive Mr Richard Nankervis said both Providence Medical Umina was selected after an extensive tender process.
"The Network is pleased to partner with these established practices to provide the community additional alternative primary health care services that will help ease the pressure on the Emergency Departments at Gosford and Wyong Hospitals."
He said the clinics were intended to provide short term, episodic care for urgent conditions that are not immediately life-threatening for people of all ages.
They would deal with minor illnesses and minor injuries including closed fractures, simple lacerations, simple eye injuries and minor burns.
He said the Umina clinic would equipped for wound management, including gluing, suturing and dressings, as well as for incision and drainage of abscesses.
It would conduct basic fracture management, including application of back slabs and plasters, as well as intravenous cannula insertion to allow for IV antibiotics and IV rehydration fluids.
It would have urinary catheter management and changes for males and females, and would remove foreign bodies from the ear and nose.
"The clinics are not intended to treat potentially life-threatening problems (such as cardiac chest pain, severe shortness of breath or altered conscious state) or to manage labour and birth," said Mr Nankervis.
"However, they will have capacity to identify and manage these problems should people present with them including capacity to stabilise conditions whilst awaiting transfer to hospital, including providing resuscitation where required.
"General Practice continues as the provider of ongoing management of chronic disease, routine medical examinations, vaccinations and childhood immunisation, and mental health care plans."
SOURCE:
Media release, 27 Sep 2023
Gordon Reid, Member for Robertson