TORQUAY’S Medicare Urgent Care Clinic has officially opened, delivering free, walk-in urgent care for non-life-threatening conditions and easing pressure on Geelong’s emergency department.<\/p>\n
The new clinic is operating from 85 Surf Coast Highway and is open seven days a week with extended hours, allowing patients to attend without an appointment and receive fully bulk-billed care.<\/p>\n
It is designed to treat a range of non-life-threatening conditions and injuries that need urgent attention, such as cuts, viral infections and sprains.<\/p>\n
The service is expected to play a significant role in reducing demand at Geelong Hospital, where about 33 per cent of emergency department presentations in 2023\u201324 were classified as semi-urgent or non-urgent.<\/p>\n
Federal Health Minister, Mark Butler, said the clinic would improve access to timely care close to home.<\/p>\n
“Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are a game changer, and now even more Victorians will get the benefit of timely, free urgent health care on their doorstep,” he said.<\/p>\n
Corangamite federal member, Libby Coker, said the opening marked the delivery of a key commitment to the Surf Coast community and a huge win for the local health system.<\/p>\n
“We promised to deliver a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic for the Torquay community \u2013 and now, that promise is a reality.<\/p>\n
“This clinic will make a real difference for locals by providing convenient, urgent treatment. No appointments needed, patients can just walk in, and all services are\u00a0bulk billed.<\/p>\n
“This would not have been possible without the support of our local community, who fought hard to secure a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic close to home.”<\/p>\n
The Torquay clinic joins a network of 20 Medicare Urgent Care Clinic operating across Victoria, with a further eight planned to open statewide in 2025\u201326.<\/p>\n
Nationally, the network has recorded more than 2.2 million patient presentations since opening in June 2023, including more than 474,800\u00a0in Victoria.<\/p>\n
The Torquay clinic has been commissioned by the Western Victoria Primary Health Network and is operated by ForHealth, a national primary health provider with experience delivering urgent care services across dozens of clinics.<\/p>\n
It will initially operate up to 10 hours a day, with plans to expand to 14 hours a day by March 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TORQUAY’S Medicare Urgent Care Clinic has officially opened, delivering free, walk-in urgent care for non-life-threatening conditions and easing pressure on Geelong’s emergency department. The new clinic is operating from 85 Surf Coast Highway and is open seven days a week with extended hours, allowing patients to attend without an appointment and receive fully bulk-billed care. […]<\/p>\n