Torquay to get Medicare Urgent Care Clinic

LABOR has announced plans to open a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Torquay if re-elected, following strong community advocacy for better local healthcare.

The clinic will take pressure off University Hospital Geelong, which handled 25,524 non-urgent and semi-urgent emergency presentations in 2023-24.

It is part of Labor’s $644 million expansion of urgent care services, with 50 new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics planned nationwide.

Residents and member for Corangamite Libby Coker campaign roadside for a bulk-billed urgent care clinic on the Surf Coast. Photo: ANGUS SMITH

The Torquay clinic is set to open in 2025-26, providing bulk billed, seven-day urgent care for non-life-threatening conditions.

Member for Corangamite, Libby Coker, said the decision followed overwhelming public support for improved healthcare services in the region.

“Only Labor will deliver a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Torquay so locals can get the free urgent care they need, fully bulk billed, without waiting for hours in a busy hospital emergency department,” Coker said.

A petition calling for a full-scale hospital in Torquay highlighted the demand for improved local healthcare, with widespread community backing.

“Our communities on the Surf Coast rallied behind the push for a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, and I’m so proud that we will deliver this service for Torquay,” Ms Coker said.

“The Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will be open seven days, for extended hours, and take pressure off our emergency departments.”

Corangamite federal member Libby Coker campaigning for a Surf Coast urgent care clinic in February. Photo: ANGUS SMITH

The federal government has already opened 87 clinics nationwide, with more than 1.2 million Australians receiving treatment at existing facilities.

Health minister Mark Butler said the clinics have been widely supported by medical professionals.

“Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are an Albanese Government initiative because we believe in Medicare and in free urgent care, fully bulk billed,” he said.

The Torquay clinic would provide access to urgent care for families, retirees, and the growing Surf Coast population, with one-third of all urgent care clinic patients currently under 15 years old.

The government says its urgent care expansion will mean four in five Australians live within 20 minutes of a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic once all new sites are operational.