Access to specialist physicians must be included in establishment of urgent care clinics in NSW and VIC
31 August 2022
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) supports the announcement of 50 free urgent care clinics by the New South Wales and Victorian governments but says urgent care clinics must include access to specialist physicians and paediatricians.
Providing a non-hospital setting for urgent care that doesn’t require hospitalisations, can be an effective way of reserving our hospital capacity for the patients who have the most serious injuries and illnesses.
Urgent care clinics are intended to address minor illness and injury when a private GP is not available. In some cases, consultation with a specialist physician or paediatrician could reduce the need for hospitalisation for patients being seen in these Urgent Care clinics. This integrated model of health care, involving specialist physicians and paediatricians as well as primary healthcare providers, can lead to better experiences of health care and health outcomes.
RACP President and paediatrician Dr Jacqueline Small says, “These urgent care clinics are an important measure, but risk missing the opportunity to expand the scope of healthcare access if specialist physicians aren’t included in the integrated model of care.
“If the clinics are to be successful, it is vital that they are integrated with specialist medical care to truly address the health needs of our patients and our communities.
“The model needs to be designed to access on-call and funded specialist physicians and paediatricians. Models of virtual care and telehealth should be considered in the design of the clinics to facilitate access to specialist care.
“Paediatricians should also be included in this plan to support children and their families needing access to medical care.
“The level of care people need is wide and diverse. If it’s not “all hands on deck”, then these clinics will fail to be a useful component of the healthcare system without the input of specialist physicians .
“We urge the New South Wales and Victorian governments to include access to specialist physicians and paediatricians in the models of care they are developing to support urgent care clinics.”