Simeon Brown: Health Minister on improvements to urgent care are set to roll out over the next four years

Improvements to urgent care are set to roll out over the next four years. 

The Government is increasing funding by 164 million dollars - 41-million dollars a year. 

Health Minister Simeon Brown says it will take pressure off the rest of the health system, especially our overburdened EDs. 

He's laid out the order that each region will get the boost. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Prebuds an announcement for US one hundred and sixty four
million dollars over four years for five new twenty four
to seven urgent healthcare clinics. That's forty one million dollars
a year. Counties Monaco, fung Rda, Palmston, North Totong and
Duneed and Health Minister Sime and Brown with me this
morning minutes A good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Good morning Ryan.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
So will these areas get a new clinic?

Speaker 2 (00:20):
This will be about ensuring those communities have twenty four
to seven access to urgent and after ours care and
healthy animill grow through a procurement process. Most likely they'll
work with existing providers who may already be providing services,
say till eight o'clock or nine o'clock at night, and
look to extend those hours overnight to ensure that the

(00:42):
access to that service is there. It's for young parents
needing to have their children seen who come down sick.
It's about reducing pressure on emergency departments because we know
that around a third of patients who are turn up
at emergency departments are Triage four or five, which are
lower acuity. Many of those can be seen in urgent
and after ours care. Clinics, so reducing pressure on hospitals,

(01:03):
providing access and supporting particularly those young families.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
So this is private clinics. We will pay to go
after hours if there was enough of a demand, wouldn't
maybe open now already.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Look, this is about providing access and ensuring that access
is there and ensuring that people can receive that care.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
So when you pay them to stay open, basically even
if they're making a loss, you'll cover it, that's right.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
It'll be about making sure that there is access to
these services. There will also be support for people who
do need that support to ensure they can. You know,
for lower income families, community services can't. But the cost
of the system is substantially cheaper if someone is seen
in primary care than if they turn up to an
emergency department. The cost difference to somewhere between like a

(01:49):
thousand dollars eight hundreds of thousand dollars if someone turns
up to an emergency department, whereas it's around one hundred
and fifty to two hundred dollars per person if they
turn up to an after ours care clinics. Cost of
the systems a lot longer, it's closer to home it's
more convenient. That's what we're trying to do. Well.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
The friend of mine's a doctor. He works in an
emergency department. He said, the problem is that you've got
people who come to the emergency department go there because
they know eventually they will be seen and they don't
have to pay anything. He said, you give in the
emergency department waiting room. You give people a voucher that says, hey,
go to this after ours clinic. They can see you
and you and you won't have to pay because you

(02:28):
were giving you this voucher. They don't move because they
are already in a queue. How do you know you
can only do so much well.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
One of the challenges though, in many communities across the country,
the access to those services is quite limited in terms
of the hours. So for example, Middlemoor Hospital emergency department
is one of our busiest emergency departments. There is no
after Ours twenty four to seven clinic in Counties Manicau.
So that's what we're doing here, making sure there isn't
after ours clinic in Counties Mancau. So there is an

(02:57):
ability for those patients to be seen elsewhere in the community.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
But private one open at night. Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
So that's what this is all about, making sure there's
more access and supporting reducing pressure in the regency.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
Department had one very very quick question. Have you had
anyone or any unions or anyone approach you about this
new pay parody stuff? You know, the potential for a
deal being lodged or a case being lodged.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Look, though the legislation is very clear individuals unions are
able to lodge claims. There's a legislated process around that
and if parties can't agree, they can go to the
Employment Relations Authority.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Thanks your time, minister, appreciate it. Simming Brown, the Health
Minister with us this morning.

Speaker 2 (03:38):
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