Sunbury residents will receive extended medical care with the opening of the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) at the Goonawarra Medical Centre Sunbury on June 27.
The medical centre will be open seven days a week with extended open hours, and all services will be fully bulk billed with no need for an appointment.
Hawke MP Sam Rae said the Sunbury UCC will be a game changer for families in the local community.
“The Sunbury [UCC] will mean families can get the bulk-billed care they need without waiting for an appointment,” Mr Rae said.
“[This] will be a game changer for families in our local community.”
The new Sunbury UCC will ease pressure on the Sunshine Hospital and is one of 10 Medicare UCC’s across Victoria.
Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler said the Sunbury UCC will cut down medical wait times for locals.
“[It] will make it easier for locals to get the urgent care they need without spending hours in a hospital waiting room,” Mr Butler said.
“We’ve worked closely with the [state] government to ensure the Medicare UCCs align with local health services and the needs of communities across the state… [while] making it easier to see a doctor.”
Eight other Medicare UCC’s are operational in Shepparton, Frankston, Geelong, Ballarat, Heidelberg, Narre Warren, Werribee and South Melbourne, with a tenth clinic to open in inner Melbourne following an expression of interest process.
Victorian patient survey data shows over 50 per cent of patients would have attended an emergency department if the current Medicare UCC’s were not available.
Zoe Moffatt
