MUCCs, MHCs, USCs and all the acronyms in between

The alphabet soup of clinics is continuing to roll out as the NSW and Victorian governments join the announcement circus.

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The federal health minister Mark Butler was in Adelaide on Thursday launching yet another Medicare Urgent Care Clinic – one of 29 new clinics promised in the 2024-45 federal budget.

South Australia’s clinics – across Elizabeth, Marion, Morphett Vale, Mount Gambier and Western Adelaide – have seen more than 24,000 visits since the first sites opened mid last year, according to the federal government.

More than a quarter of these visits have been outside of normal working hours and a fifth have been for children under 15 years old.

As part of its 2024-25 budget, the federal government promised a further $56.3 million to work with South Australia’s government to relieve pressure on the state’s hospitals.

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This included funding for the new MUCC in northeast Adelaide, to take the pressure off Modbury Hospital.

Meanwhile, the NSW government has taken matters into its own hands – officially opening the state-funded Gregory Hills Urgent Care Service in partnership with the South Western Sydney Primary Health Network yesterday.

The NSW government has delivered 16 GP-led UCSs since July 2023, accumulating more than 55,000 visits.

The NSW government has committed $124 million to deliver 25 USCs, not to be confused with the primarily federally funded MUCCs, across the state by mid-2025.

The Gregory Hills USC will be open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week.

The Victorian government has focused its energies on “building a modern and accessible mental health system”, opening free-to-all Mental Health Clinic to walk-ins in both Shepparton and Mildura.

The state’s minister for mental health, Ingrid Stitt, announced that locals aged 26 and above could walk into the mental health and wellbeing centres to receive free care, without the need for a Medicare card, a referral or an appointment.

So far, the 15 mental health and wellbeing centres across the state have provided over 6500 people with support, since the first clinics opened in October 2022.