More than 1600 patients have accessed new bulk-billing clinics in the Hunter New England/Central Coast primary health network since they began to open in October.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The clinics have typically been treating upper respiratory infections, acute ear pain and rapid onset rashes.
The federal government has established four Medicare urgent care clinics in the network, among 58 across the country.
Clinics at Cessnock and Tamworth were opened in October, followed by Umina and Lake Haven on the Central Coast.
The Cessnock clinic is based at All Ways Healthcare. Its hours are 8am to 6pm, seven days a week.
For many in Lake Macquarie, the Lake Haven clinic will be the closest.
It opened this week at Coastal Lakes Medical Practice at Lake Haven Shopping Centre. Its hours are Monday to Friday from 8am to 7pm, and 9am to 7pm on weekends.
The clinics are mainly for minor illnesses, cuts, burns and fractures, not check-ups or complex conditions.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the Lake Haven clinic was the final one to open in NSW.
Mr Butler said the clinics were aimed at making it easier for people to see a doctor.
He said the Lake Haven clinic would "make a big difference".
"This clinic will ease pressure on Wyong Hospital, allowing it to concentrate on higher priority emergencies."
He said the Albanese Government was "committed to strengthening Medicare".
Shortland MP Pat Conroy said patients had been "forced to wait far too long to see a doctor for minor injuries and illnesses".
Mr Conroy said the clinic would help people see a bulk-billing GP, particularly after-hours.
The decline in bulk billing emerged because previous governments maintained a Medicare rebate freeze, which squeezed GP budgets as costs rose.
People have been increasingly complaining to GPs about the cost of appointments.
The cost for a standard GP consultation was generally about $70 to $90 in the Hunter, with a Medicare rebate of about $40.
