The Albanese Government is delivering on its promise to strengthen Medicare with another Medicare Urgent Care Clinic destined for the Gold Coast, this time in Southport.
From 21 November, the Southport Medicare UCC will open at the Southport Medical and Dental Centre: 178 Nerang Street, Southport.
The Southport Medicare UCC will provide care for urgent, but not life-threatening conditions, such as cuts, infections, and sprains. The clinic will be open seven days a week, is fully bulk billed and will be open extended hours.
Thousands of Gold Coast residents have already benefited from the free and high-quality healthcare Medicare Urgent Care Clinics provides at the Gold Coast Medicare UCC, and now with this new clinic in Southport, even more people will receive the urgent care they need.
The clinic will ease pressure on the busiest emergency department in the country, the Gold Coast University Hospital.
Since the Gold Coast Medicare UCC opened a year ago it has seen almost 10,000 presentations.
Around half of all presentations say they would have gone to the local ED if the Gold Coast Medicare UCC was unavailable.
Almost 2 in 5 presentations to the Gold Coast Medicare UCC have been for patients aged from 0 to 15 years old.
Around 4 in 5 presentations were referred home following being seen at Gold Coast Medicare UCC.
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
"The Southport Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will make a huge difference to the local community and help residents to save time by avoiding the Gold Coast University Hospital.
"The Albanese Government is strengthening Medicare to ensure all Australians can access affordable health care close to home.
"The Gold Coast Medicare UCC in Oxenford has already seen nearly 10,000 presentations and importantly around half of all presentations say they would have ended up at Gold Coast University Hospital if the UCC wasn't available.
"All patients need is their Medicare card, not their credit card."
Quotes attributable to Minister Watt, Senator for Queensland:
"The Gold Coast University Hospital is home to one of the busiest Emergency Departments in the entire country.
"That's why this second Medicare Urgent Care Clinic on the Gold Coast is so important.
"Another Medicare UCC on the Gold Coast will give locals another choice, and importantly it is fully bulk billed. All patients need is their Medicare card, not their credit card."
