Since last year, I have been calling for a new fully bulk billed Medicare Urgent Care Clinic for our area. I had over 1,500 signatures of support, and that support was only rising.
And on Sunday 2nd March, Health Minister Mark Butler announced that Maitland would be one of 50 new bulk billed Medicare Urgent Care Clinics to be provided by a future Labor government.
Thank you to all those who supported this campaign.
I will always stand up for our community to get more health services and infrastructure delivered.
See below for more information regarding the announcement of a new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic for Maitland.
MARK BUTLER MP
MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE
MERYL SWANSON MP
MEMBER FOR PATERSON
LABOR WILL OPEN A MEDICARE URGENT CARE CLINIC IN MAITLAND
Australians in Maitland will get the free urgent care they need, fully bulk billed, without waiting hours in a busy hospital emergency department, if the Albanese Labor Government is re-elected.
Labor will open a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Maitland as part of a $644 million commitment to open another 50 Urgent Care Clinics, with more clinics in every state and territory.
Once all of Labor’s clinics are open, 4 in 5 Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.
If Labor is re-elected, the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Maitland will begin operating in the 2025-26 financial year, providing bulk billed care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions, seven days a week, for extended hours, and with no appointment needed.
The Urgent Care Clinic will take pressure off the Maitland Hospital, which saw 25,230 non-urgent and semi-urgent presentations in 2023-24.
Parents and families swear by them: one third of patients are under the age of 15.
All you will need is your Medicare card, not your credit card.
The Liberals say the Albanese Labor Government’s Urgent Care Clinics are “wasteful spending”. Peter Dutton will close every Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, forcing over a million Australians a year back into the waiting rooms of busy hospital emergency departments.
Labor went to the last election promising to open 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, and we have delivered 87 clinics. More than 1.2 million Australians have already been treated at one of Labor’s existing 87 Urgent Care Clinics.
Doctors have embraced the clinics, with a survey finding 7 in 10 GPs support Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, and 8 in 10 GPs say they have a positive impact on hospital emergency departments.
Around 2 million Australians are expected to make use of an Urgent Care Clinic each year, getting the free urgent care they need, fully bulk billed, without waiting hours in a busy hospital emergency department.
This extends Labor’s election commitment to strengthening Medicare, with the single largest investment in Medicare since its creation over 40 years ago.
Video – Patient case studies | Sarah Hunstead’s visit | Bhavana’s visit
Video – Health professionals explain | Inside the Rockhampton Urgent Care Clinic
Animated explainer – When should you visit | What do Urgent Care Clinics offer
Advertisement – That’s a case for a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic
Quotes attributable to Health Minister Mark Butler:
“Australia's doctors voted Peter Dutton the worst Health Minister in Medicare history for a reason.
“The Liberals had nine years to open Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, and they never opened a single one. Now they call Labor’s clinics ‘wasteful spending’ and want to close every single one of them.
“Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are an Albanese Government initiative because we believe in Medicare and in free urgent care, fully bulk billed.
“You can’t trust the Liberals with Medicare: you can’t trust them to open Urgent Care Clinics and you can’t trust them to keep them open.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Paterson, Meryl Swanson MP:
“At this election Australia faces a choice: a stronger Medicare with more bulk billing for all Australians under Labor, or more cuts to Medicare under Peter Dutton's Liberals.
“Only Labor will deliver a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Maitland so you can get the free urgent care you need, fully bulk billed, without waiting hours in a busy hospital emergency department.
“The Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will be open seven days, for extended hours, and take pressure off the Maitland Hospital.
SUNDAY, 2 MARCH 2025
MEDIA CONTACTS
Minister Butler’s Office: Lucy Caruso 0408 803 428
Meryl Swanson MP: Rosa Grine 0406 223 537
