Prime Minister visits Rockingham to open urgent care clinic

Sunday, 9 July 2023 19:19

By Monique Welhan

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made a quick stop to Rockingham to open the State's second Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (UCC).

The clinic, at the Rockingham Medical and Dental Care Centre, will make it easier for locals to treat urgent, but not life-threatening conditions, taking pressure off Rockingham Hospital.

Mr Albanese was joined by Premier Roger Cook, Federal Member for Brand Madeleine King and Labor's candidate for the Rockingham by-election Magenta Marshall for the official opening on Saturday.

The Rockingham UCC is open for extended hours (8am-8pm), seven days a week, with urgent care fully bulk-billed.

Premier Roger Cook said between 2019 and 2021, 44 per cent of presentations to Rockingham Hospital were classed as semi or non-urgent.

"We all know that our hospital systems right around the country are struggling to deal with the level of demand at the moment," Mr Cook said.

"These urgent care clinics are fully bulk billed and treat non-life-threatening injuries and medical conditions which would otherwise attend our emergency departments.

"Already when have seen a good flow of patients coming from the local ED at Rockingham Hospital into the clinic here so that people can get more speedy care and can continue to make sure that we get to our other, more urgent patients in the EDs in a much better way."

An UCC in Morley was the first to open in WA with a further five set to open later this year.

For information on when to visit an urgent care clinic, click here.