GP Access services in the Hunter are finally starting to ramp back up again with after-hours operations at the Mater and Belmont hospitals being restored.
Starting today, the Belmont Hospital clinic will be open weekdays from 6:00pm – 10:00pm, Saturdays from 1:00pm – 10:00pm and Sundays from 3:00pm – 10:00pm.
Meantime, the Mater’s facility is also back to a 10pm closing time on Sundays, following its reopening in May.
It marks a dramatic turn-around for GP Access in the region after Hunter Primary Care was forced to slash the services and close the clinic at the Mater in December 2021 after Commonwealth funding failed to keep up with an increase in operational costs.
The Albanese Government promised to restore GP Access in the lead up to the election and followed through in the October budget, committing $28.7 million which will be rolled out over six years.
Labor says the expansion of hours at Belmont Hospital and Calvary Mater is the latest tranche in the rollout to restore the service with plans progressing now on Toronto Polyclinic.
GP Access clinics offer face to face and telehealth primary care services outside business hours.
These services are bulk billed to anyone with a Medicare card, and delivered by GPs and Registered Nurses, reducing the barrier to access care, and preventing visits to the Emergency Department.