The Albanese Government is delivering on its commitment to Brisbane Southsiders, with a provider for the Brisbane South Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (Medicare UCC) selected, following an Expression of Interest process.
Cornwall Street Medical Centre will be established as the Brisbane South Medicare UCC and will start seeing patients 23 October 2023.
The Brisbane South Medicare UCC will deliver on the Australian Government’s commitment to make it easier for people in Queensland to get the urgent treatment they need – from highly qualified doctors and nurses – while taking pressure off the Mater Hospital Brisbane and Princess Alexandra Hospital.<
The Medicare UCC will be open for extended hours, seven days a week, and offer walk-in care that is fully bulk billed.
Over 30 per cent of presentations to the Mater Hospital Brisbane and Princess Alexandra Hospital are for non-urgent or semi-urgent care.
The Brisbane South clinic is one of the 11 Medicare UCCs across Queensland – located in Bundaberg, Cairns, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Logan, Northern Brisbane, Murrumba Downs (Redcliffe), Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Townsville.
The Australian Government will continue to work closely with Primary Health Networks and the Queensland Government to deliver the remaining Medicare UCCs, all of which will open this year.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:
“It’s a real privilege to be opening another Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, this time in Woolloongabba.
“Across Brisbane’s south, when Queenslanders need urgent care that isn’t life threatening – the Brisbane South Medicare UCC will be here to help.
“Prior to the election last year, we committed to rolling out 50 new Urgent Care Clinics across the country. When we complete our rollout – we’ll have exceeded our target and there’ll be 58 centres giving Australians urgent care, taking pressure off emergency departments all over the country.
the Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler said:
“The Brisbane South Medicare UCC is going to make a big difference to patients across the Southside.
“Southsiders will be able to walk in, see a doctor or nurse and access imaging and pathology services.
“The clinic will ease pressure on the Mater Hospital Brisbane and Princess Alexandra Hospital, allowing them to concentrate on higher priority emergencies.
“The Albanese Government is committed to strengthening Medicare and making it easier and cheaper to get quality healthcare, by tripling the bulk billing incentive and making medicines cheaper.”
Labor Senator for Queensland, Minister Murray Watt said:
“The Brisbane South Medicare UCC will mean Southsiders who need urgent but not acute care, can get it quickly even if it’s outside standard hours – and all they’ll need is their Medicare card.
“I know many Southside families who have had to wait long hours at the emergency department for non-life-threatening issues
“This Medicare UCC will ease pressure on our local emergency departments and be much more convenient for our community – closer to home, at short notice, and bulk billed under Medicare.”