Pic shows (L-R): NWMPHN Chief Executive Christopher Carter, practice owner Chathura Kaluarachchi, Josh Bull MP, Gabrielle Williams MP, clinician Dr Manjulie Kaluarachchi and patient Karen Cook at the Sunbury Priority Primary Care Centre. Pic: Leigh Henningham.
Free on-the-spot medical care is now available in Sunbury, in a move that will make it easier for residents to see a doctor and ease the pressure on overworked hospital emergency departments.
The Sunbury Priority Primary Care Centre (PPCC) will see patients with urgent but not life-threatening conditions. It was officially opened this week by Victoria’s Acting Minister for Health, Gabrielle Williams, accompanied by Sunbury MP, Josh Bull.
The centre is open 7 days a week and appointments can be made by calling (03) 9744 9922 or online, but walk-ins will also be accepted. The service is available to everyone, and free even for people who do not have a Medicare card.
The Sunbury Priority Primary Care Centre is run by a partnership of the Victorian and Australian Governments and is part of the Australian Government’s Medicare Urgent Care Clinic program.
It is located at the Goonawarra Medical Centre, 1/5 Dornoch Dr, Sunbury.
PPCCs provide treatment for non-life-threatening injuries or illnesses that otherwise might lead to a lengthy wait in a hospital emergency department, such as fractures, burns and mild infections.
All PPCCs provide easy access to services such as pathology or X-rays, and each is linked directly to a major hospital, and has referral pathways with Ambulance Victoria and the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department.
The Sunbury PPCC will take pressure off the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Not only will patients at the PPCC be treated much more rapidly than they might be in an emergency department, the hospital itself will be able to better deliver life-saving care to seriously ill or injured people.
“People attending the PPCC in Dornoch Drive will receive the care they need close to home without having to wait for many hours,” said Christopher Carter, CEO of North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network, which oversees urgent care clinics for the Victorian and Australian governments.
“It won’t take the place of a local GP, and it won’t replace the hospital. What it will do is provide urgent medical care when you need it most.”
- More details on the Sunbury Priority Primary Care centre can be found here.
- More details on the Australian Government’s Medicare Urgent Care Clinics program can be found here.
- More details on the Victorian Government’s Priority Primary Care Centre program can be found here.
