Closure of Mount Gambier Urgent Care Clinic
Mount Gambier’s troubled Urgent Care Clinic has closed, four months after its operator went into receivership. AMA SA President A/Prof Subramaniam says it confirms what the AMA has been warning about for some time.
The President of the Australian Medical Association in South Australia (AMA SA) Associate Professor Peter Subramaniam says the closure of the Mount Gambier Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) is a ‘stark warning’ about the consequences of short-term and short-sighted healthcare models in regional communities.
‘This closure confirms what the AMA has been warning for some time: urgent care clinics, if poorly planned and disconnected from local services, can do more harm than good,’ A/Prof Subramaniam says.
‘UCCs were introduced to reduce emergency department pressure. But rather than relieving strain they often exacerbate it - drawing workforce away from general practice, fragmenting care and undermining the very services that communities rely on for continuity and chronic disease management.
‘The closure of the Mount Gambier Urgent Care Clinic has now left the local community with fewer healthcare options, increasing the pressure on local general practices and the hospital emergency department.’
The AMA has long been calling on the Australian Government to invest in general practice – not UCCs – to ensure GPs can meet the needs of patients today and tomorrow. The AMA’s Modernise Medicare campaign sets out a vision for longer GP consults and smaller out-of-pocket costs for patients.
‘Urgent care clinics are not an adequate solution to Australia’s health system challenges, and the Australian Government’s focus on their expansion prior to the election is a missed opportunity to deliver real, systemic improvements,’ A/Prof Subramaniam says.
‘The people of Mount Gambier deserve long-term solutions – and that starts with sustainable investment in general practice, not pop-up models that collapse when the staffing dries up.
‘The AMA urges both the state and federal governments to consult closely with local clinicians and ensure any future models are designed to support – not compete with – established care.’
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