The Mount Gambier Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (Medicare UCC) opened yesterday on Crouch Street South.

The clinic, part of the Federal Government’s election campaign, is being created to make it easier for residents to get the urgent treatment they need – from highly qualified doctors and nurses – while taking pressure off local hospitals.

The Medicare UCC will be open for extended hours, 7 days a week, and offer walk-in care that is fully bulk billed.

More than 50% of presentations to the Mount Gambier Hospital are for non-urgent or semi-urgent care.

The Mount Gambier clinic will join the Elizabeth and Marion Medicare UCCs in providing services to South Australians for urgent care needs.

The Australian Government will continue to work closely with the Primary Health Networks and the South Australian Government to deliver the remaining Medicare UCCs.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the Mount Gambier Medicare UCC was going to make a big difference to patients in the region.

“Local communities will be able to walk in, see a doctor or nurse and access imaging and pathology services,” he said.

“This clinic will ease pressure on the Mount Gambier and Districts Health Service, allowing them to concentrate on higher priority emergencies.”

State Health Minister Chris Picton said the clinic would mean people in the Limestone Coast who need urgent but non life-threatening care, can get it quickly even if it’s outside standard hours “and all they’ll need is their Medicare card”.

“This is a positive step towards restoring bulk-billed primary care services that have disappeared over the last decade and will help to manage demand as the Malinauskas Labor State Government gets on with $24m of infrastructure upgrades to the Mount Gambier and Districts Health Service,” he said.

“This Medicare UCC will ease pressure on the local emergency department and be much more convenient for our communities – closer to home, at short notice, and bulk billed under Medicare.”