Delivering a healthy WA - more bulk billing for children and pensioners

21/11/04
Families with children and health care cardholders will be offered bulk billing medical care at the new after hours GP clinic opened in Rockingham today.
Health Minister Jim McGinty said the State Government and general practitioners in the area had struck an agreement that would see about 70 per cent of all the clinics' patients bulk billed.
"The new clinic will be a significant boost for families in Rockingham because there are currently only limited after hours GP services in the area," Mr McGinty said.
"Thanks to good economic management, the Labor Government has been able to strike a deal with local GPs so that children under 16 and concession card holders can have access to free, after hours health care."
Adult patients without health care cards will be charged $45, which is $20 above the Medicare rebate.
"The Government would have preferred 100 per cent bulk billing for the Rockingham clinic but it is important that we have the support of the local medical profession to meet the health needs of the people who need it most," the Minister said.
The clinic will initially be open from 7pm to 10pm weeknights and from 2pm to 10pm on weekends but it is expected that those hours will be extended as demand increases.
Doctors staffing the clinic estimate they will treat up to 8,000 people in the first year of operation. Patients can simply walk in or be referred from the hospital emergency department, which sees about 30,000 people a year.
"The population of Rockingham, Kwinana and surrounding areas is growing rapidly, so the Government's 'Delivering a Healthy WA' reform program is putting these extra resources in place to cater for that growth," Mr McGinty said.
The Rockingham clinic follows on from the success of the after hours clinics at Royal Perth and Fremantle hospitals and the Joondalup Health Campus.
Since opening in May, GPs at the Royal Perth and Fremantle clinics have seen more than 3,700 patients. The Joondalup clinic, which opened in September, has treated more than 2,200 patients.
The most common ailments treated by GPs included lacerations, ear, nose and throat problems, respiratory difficulties and minor injuries.
Mr McGinty said it was more appropriate that these patients were seen by a GP instead of doctors in hospital emergency departments, where many had traditionally been treated.
"By allowing GPs to treat patients with minor ailments, some of the pressure is taken off emergency department staff so they can concentrate on patients with more serious conditions," he said.
"It also means that patients with minor conditions no longer have to wait for hours in an emergency department for treatment."
The after hours clinic is located just inside the front entrance to the Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital, which has recently been refurbished as part of the $10million redevelopment program.
An additional $54million has been allocated to upgrade RKDH to a general hospital with 150 extra beds.
Stage one of the redevelopment will result in the hospital increasing its bed capacity from 67 to 217 by 2006-07.
A further upgrade to 300 beds will be completed within the next 10 years.
Once completed, the hospital will provide improved general medicine, general surgery, obstetrics, gynaecology, orthopaedics and paediatrics, along with a range of other medical services to the surrounding communities.
The upgrade will include new operating theatres, obstetric delivery suites and satellite renal dialysis.
The after hours GP clinics are part of the State Government's strategy to relieve pressure on hospital emergency departments. Other initiatives include:

• a $20million allocation to open 332 extra hospital beds across metropolitan hospitals during the winter months;

• $22million to upgrade hospital emergency departments;

• $34.7million for St John Ambulance to put more ambulances on the road and employ 100 new staff;

• recruitment of more than 1,200 full-time salaried nurses in public hospitals;

• a $23.6million initiative to provide around the clock mental health teams and holding beds in emergency departments; and

• $173million to boost mental health services which includes additional inpatient beds, staff and specialist mental health teams for emergency departments.