IN ITS first year, the Ipswich Medicare Urgent Care Clinic has had more than 12,500 visits, bolstering the region’s health services and diverting patients from the Ipswich Hospital Emergency Department.
Having opened its doors in August last year, the facility delivers on the Federal Government’s commitment to make it easier for locals to see a doctor or nurse for urgent care.
The largest proportion of patients to the Ipswich Medicare UCC have been children, with almost one in three visits from people aged under 15.
Almost one in three visits to the clinic have taken place on the weekend, and over one in four were after 5pm on weekdays.
The most common presentations at the Ipswich Medicare UCC have been for conditions including upper respiratory tract infections, lacerations, and urinary tract infections.
Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler said the Albanese Government was delivering on its promises.
Last year, Labor delivered the biggest investment in Medicare in its 40-year history, resulting in Ipswich’s bulk billing rate now 81.2% for all GP visits, Mr Butler said.
“We know the community is continuing to face cost-of-living pressures which is why we’re continuing to make medicines cheaper.
“People in Ipswich have saved $7.5 million on the costs of their medicines since the Albanese Government, cut the maximum cost of PBS scripts for the first time in 75 years, lowered the Safety Net threshold and introduced 60-day prescriptions.”
Member for Blair Shayne Neumann said the Government’s investments in bulk billing meant more Blair residents were getting bulk billed visits at the GP than they were last year.
