Details remain scant on Tamworth's planned new urgent care clinic, despite its scheduled opening just 12 months away.
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Tamworth was promised a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic by the Labor party ahead of the May federal election.
But local doctors are skeptical of the ability of the federal government to actually fulfill the promise by the due date.
A spokesperson for Minister for Health Mark Butler confirmed to the Leader Tamworth is "one of the priority areas announced for an urgent care clinic". The clinics will go online from the middle of next year, he said.
The federal government has yet to develop estimates of the cost, staffing, or location of the clinic, and the spokesperson didn't answer a question by the Leader as to whether they remained confident about meeting the deadline.
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Tamworth GP Ian Kamerman is skeptical of the health model.
"The question that they've never seem to answer is, exactly where are they going to get these doctors from? There is a national shortage of GPs," he said.
"Are they going to pull doctors out of mainstream general practice and so consequently it'll be harder for people to see their own GP?
"Are they suddenly going to flood the market with overseas-trained doctors who are working under supervision? Are they going to pull junior doctors out of hospitals to serve it? Are they going to get emergency medicine specialists to run it?"
He said the late shifts and weekend duties the clinics would require wouldn't be attractive to doctors, and the less than $3 million allocated to each clinic would barely make ends meet.
"I suppose this comes down to the basic problem, which is politicians running healthcare, and deciding on solutions which are generally knee-jerk responses to fix a particular problem without thinking about the collateral effects..." he said.
"I just don't think it's been thought through at all."
Tamworth-based Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network deputy chairperson Dr David Briggs said the federal health body hadn't yet got much information on the new service.
But he said opening the clinic within a year isn't totally impossible.
"Health systems are pretty good at building buildings and responding to those sorts of opportunities," he said.
"But again it'll depend on ... where's the staff going to come from and how it's going to be supported. I think there's a bit of talking to go on between the different services, initially, before we can decide how quickly we can go."
He said workforce remains "one of our biggest challenges" and would probably prove no easier for whoever staffs the new clinic.
Based on a New Zealand model, the clinics are designed to serve people with non-life threatening, but time-critical medical care, diverting patients with minor injuries like broken bones or minor burns from overfull hospital emergency departments. They will open for long hours, on weekends, accept walk-ins, be free to use, and be based in existing general practice clinics or community health centres.
The government plans to spend $135 million over four years to fund 50 clinics around the country.
"The clinics, which will begin being operational from mid-2023, are a key part of commitments made by the Australian government to strengthen Medicare and relieve pressures on the health system," a spokesperson for minister Butler said.
"The government is working with the states and territories and their local hospital networks closely in the design and implementation of the urgent care clinics, including in finalising specific locations.
"Further consultation is occurring with health industry stakeholders to ensure close co-operation between the clinics and existing service offerings such as local emergency departments and ambulance, as well as workforce."
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