Residents and holiday-makers in the Shoalhaven will soon have faster access to urgent medical care, with Nowra set to welcome a new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic on 19 January.

The clinic will operate out of the Grand Pacific Health Centre located at 107 Scenic Drive and was officially announced on Thursday by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Gilmore MP Fiona Phillips, following a competitive tender process run by COORDINARE – South Eastern NSW PHN.

Open seven days a week with extended hours, the clinic will offer walk-in, fully bulk-billed care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions.

It’s designed to treat everything from sprains, minor fractures and burns to cuts, wounds, bites, and common ear or eye issues.

The Australian Government is rolling out Medicare UCCs nationwide to ease pressure on emergency departments -- pressure that’s being acutely felt locally.

In 2023–24, more than half of all presentations at Shoalhaven Memorial Hospital were for non-urgent or semi-urgent issues.

Phillips said the new clinic would help residents get treatment sooner while reducing strain on hospital staff.

“This new Medicare UCC will make it easier for people in the Shoalhaven to get the urgent treatment they need from highly qualified doctors and nurses,” Phillips said.

“The clinic will ease pressure on Shoalhaven Memorial Hospital, allowing them to concentrate on higher priority emergencies.”

COORDINARE CEO Prudence Buist said the service will be a convenient option for families who need timely care without the cost or long waits of a hospital visit.

“The clinic will be completely bulk-billed, meaning people needing urgent but non-life-threatening care will save on out-of-pocket costs,” Buist said.

The Shoalhaven’s growing and ageing population has increased demand for accessible health services.

The Nowra site will join 90 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics already operating across Australia, which have seen more than two million patient visits since mid-2023, including established clinics in Wollongong, Dapto, Queanbeyan and Batemans Bay.