The Albanese Government is delivering on its commitment to the Rockhampton community, with the Rockhampton Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (Medicare UCC) opening on 6 December 2023.
The Rockhampton Central Medical Centre (formerly the Mandalay Medical Centre) on Yaamba Road will be established as the Rockhampton Medicare UCC following an Expression of Interest process.
This Medicare UCC delivers on the Albanese Government's commitment to make it easier for people in Rockhampton to get the urgent treatment they need - from highly qualified doctors and nurses - while taking pressure off the Rockhampton Hospital.
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 35 per cent of presentations to the Rockhampton Hospital are for non-urgent or semi-urgent care.
The Rockhampton clinic is one of the 11 clinics to be established in Queensland - located in Bundaberg, Cairns, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Logan (Browns Plains), Northern Brisbane, Murrumba Downs (Redcliffe), Rockhampton, Southern Brisbane, Toowoomba and Townsville.
The Australian Government will continue to work closely with the Queensland Primary Health Alliance and the Western Australian Government to deliver the remaining Medicare UCCs.
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
"The Rockhampton Medicare UCC is going to make a big difference to patients in the greater Rockhampton area.
"Local communities will be able to walk in, see a doctor or nurse and access imaging and pathology services.
"This Medicare UCC will ease pressure on local EDs and be much more convenient for our communities - closer to home, at short notice, and bulk billed under Medicare."
"The Albanese Government is committed to strengthening Medicare and making it easier and cheaper to get quality healthcare, by tripling the bulk billing incentive and making medicines cheaper.
Quotes attributable to Minister Fentiman:
"We know that Rockhampton families deserve free, high-quality health care close to home - and that's exactly what the new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will provide.
"Urgent Care Clinics are designed to take pressures off our health system and GPs by being an accessible and community-based alternative to busy hospitals.
"Labor stands for quality, affordable healthcare wherever you live in Queensland, so it's so nice to see that after a decade of underfunding by the former LNP federal government, we now have a government that takes healthcare - particularly preventative healthcare - seriously."
Quotes attributable to Senator Green:
"The Rockhampton Medicare UCC will mean people in this community who need urgent but not acute care, can get it quickly even if it's outside standard hours - and all they'll need is their Medicare card.
"I know many families who have had to wait long hours at the emergency department for non-life-threatening issues.
"This clinic will ease pressure on the Rockhampton Hospital, allowing them to concentrate on higher priority emergencies.
