Six new bulk-billing Urgent Care Clinics are being built in the Northern Territory, with assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy saying they will support the health and wellbeing of the predominantly Indigenous Territorians in the new locations.
On Tuesday, the Labor Senator was joined by Chief Executive of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT) John Paterson, and FCD Health Ltd chief executive Bernie Cummins, to announce the new clinics at Ali Curung, Galiwinku, Alyangula, Wurrumiyanga, Lajamanu and Maningrida.
"We know that these Urgent Care Clinics are quite important to be able to transition from their current status, to be able to provide more support for First Nations people in particular in our communities, to have the after-hours service to hopefully reduce the aeromedical services," Senator McCarthy said.
"So, this is a real boost for the people of the Northern Territory."
The Commonwealth has pledged close to $24 million in funding, which has seen Wurrumiyanga, Maningrida and Alyangula clinics seeing patients since the start of July, with the rest expected to see their first patients by the end of the year.
There were almost 8,000 air retrievals in the NT in 2023, estimated to cost close to $100m, and Senator McCarthy saying she was hoping the new facilities would see a reduction in the flights where appropriate.
"If they don't need to be [medevaced] to Katherine or to Darwin or to Alice Springs, if these Urgent Care Clinics can provide that support, then this will go a long way to assisting our communities," she said.
Mr Paterson concurred, arguing it will allow "after-hour care in those remote clinics that have been successful in becoming the Urgent Care Clinics".
"It'll also provide and hopefully reduce the medivac arrangements that may require patients to be treated locally with the specialist care that these clinics will provide and reduce some of those strains on the hospitals as well," he said.
"So, the more we can do local communities, the better. And we are very confident that these models of care will do exactly that."
The new clinics will feature extended operating hours as well as bulk-billing and walk-in services, and Senator McCarthy said the announcement was part of 29 more urgent care clinics across the country.
The six new clinics will be co-located with existing health services and join the previously opened Palmerston and Alice Springs clinics, which has seen close to 19,000 patients since they were opened last year — 91 per cent of whom were diverted from hospital emergency departments.
Ms Cummins said of the 11,000 people who visited the Palmerston Medicare Urgent Care Clinic since it opened, only 5 per cent needed to go to hospital.
"Patients receive a full bulk-billed service - that's free of charge - and are able to receive care from stitches through to broken arms, as well as things like minor burns," she said.
"Patients often come to us with an acute illness. They can wait up to 90 minutes on average. They stay with us for about 20 minutes and then are able to return home to the care of their families and loved ones without needing to travel to hospital and an ED."
Member for Solomon, Luke Gosling, whose electorate takes in Palmerston, said he was pleased the NT was granted six new clinics.
"Accessing safe, quality and affordable health care in remote areas of the NT will soon be easier and this will have a significant and positive impact on each community now and in the future," he said.
Senator McCarthy also said the government remained confident that medical reinforcements were on the way to assist in short-staffed Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisations in the NT.
"We committed, when we came into government, rolling out 500 positions, traineeship positions in terms of Indigenous health clinicians," she said.
"We now have over 300 of those 500 currently training across the country. So, I am very confident that with the work of AMSANT and with the work of NACCHO, we are going to meet that."