A new bulk-billed urgent care clinic will open in Kingston on Monday, offering extended hours seven days a week to treat non-life-threatening conditions.
The Kingston Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will be staffed by doctors and nurses who can treat urgent but not emergency care such as viral infections, sprained ankles and cuts.
The clinic aims to reduce pressure on Royal Hobart Hospital, where about 32% of presentations in last year were for semi-urgent or non-urgent conditions.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the clinic would be “a game changer for families in the region”.
“The Kingston Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will ease pressure on the Royal Hobart Hospital emergency department which provides care to people with more serious conditions,” he said.
“This clinic is a key part of the Albanese Government’s commitment to strengthen Medicare and make health care more accessible and affordable.”
Local MP Julie Collins said the clinic would provide convenient care in the heart of Kingston.
“The opening of the clinic is a huge win for our community, taking the pressure off the emergency department,” she said.
“I fought hard to secure this Medicare Urgent Care Clinic as an election commitment and I’m so proud to see it now delivered on and serving the local community.”
The Kingston clinic will join seven existing Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across Tasmania, part of a national network designed to put four out of five Australians within a 20-minute drive of their local clinic.
Since the first clinics opened in 2023, there have been more than 2.5 million presentations nationally, including over 147,300 at Tasmanian sites.
One in four patients were aged under 15, more than one in four visited on weekends, and over one in three came for weekday after-hours visits.
