Urgent care provides medical attention for an illness or injury that can be managed without a trip to the emergency department but cannot wait for a regular appointment with a general practitioner (GP).
What is urgent care?
Urgent care provides medical attention for an illness or injury that can be managed without a trip to the emergency department but cannot wait for a regular appointment with a general practitioner (GP).
Urgent care is open for extended hours and operates every day of the year, including public holidays. They also offer pathology and imaging services onsite or nearby.
Urgent care supports nearby hospital emergency departments by providing GP-led care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions, such as mild infections, fractures and burns.
Urgent care is free for Medicare card holders and community-based asylum seekers and support the community to access local, appropriate urgent care and avoid waiting at the emergency department.
Open 7 days a week for extended hours, including public holidays
High quality and skilled GP-led care
All services are free and confidential
Is your care urgent? Call Healthdirect on 1800 022 222
Urgent care in central and eastern Sydney
Urgent care services in our region are commissioned by CESPHN with funding from the NSW and Australian government. The Australian Government is funding Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) in Burwood, Carlton, Maroubra and Marrickville. The New South Wales Government is funding Urgent Care Services (UCSs) in Belmore, Caringbah and Green Square.
Medicare Urgent Care Clinics
Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) provide free, bulk‑billed, GP‑led care for urgent but non‑life‑threatening conditions. No appointment or referral is needed. Patients can simply walk in and wait to be seen.
UCCs are staffed by highly trained medical professionals, and provide culturally safe, equitable and accessible care to all people, including vulnerable and young people. UCCs offer extended opening hours and operate every day of the year, including public holidays.
NSW Urgent Care Services (UCSs) provides free medical care for people with a valid Medicare card or community-based asylum seekers who need treatment within the next 2 to 12 hours for a non-life-threatening illness or injury.
UCSs are open from 8AM to 8PM, seven days a week, including on public holidays.
To access a UCS, please call Healthdirect on 1800 022 222. The Healthdirect helpline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A registered nurse will assess your symptoms and may book you into an urgent care service near you or direct you to the most appropriate care.
What conditions can be treated at an Urgent Care Service?
Urgent care is medical attention that is required within 2-12 hours for an illness or injury that is not life-threatening, such as sprains, bone fractures and dislocations, insect bites, rashes, gastrointestinal illness, urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted infections, minor cuts and abrasions, minor ear and eye problems, and minor burns.
Urgent care is not a replacement for health and medical services that are managed in a regular general practice by a doctor such as general screening and health checks, vaccinations and prescriptions, mental health advice, family planning, referrals for tests, scans or specialist care, chronic disease management or preventive health procedures such as cervical screening tests.
Who operates the Urgent Care Service?
Urgent Care Services were selected through an open tender process. Local general practices were required to demonstrate their ability to meet the service specifications, including local connection to the health services. Whilst some deliver the Urgent Care Service onsite at their existing clinic, others have set up a separate satellite site in order to have sufficient rooms, patient flows for infection prevention and patient amenities.
What is the difference between Medicare Urgent Care Clinics and NSW Urgent Care Services?
The NSW Government and the Australian Government are both funding the delivery of separate services within NSW which provide urgent care. The NSW Government is delivering a range of in-person and virtual Urgent Care Services which you can access by calling Healthdirect on 1800 022 222.
Urgent Care Services are generally open from 8am to 8pm every day of the week, including on public holidays. Some virtual Urgent Care Services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Healthdirect helpline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By calling Healthdirect on 1800 022 222 to access Urgent Care Services, people can be connected with an appropriate, available service in their location
Is there a cost to patients?
It is free for anyone to call Healthdirect on 1800 022 222 and receive information, advice or be connected with a health care service, including an Urgent Care Service. Treatment through an Urgent Care Service is free for people with a Medicare card and for community-based asylum seekers.
Some in-person Urgent Care Services also provide free x-ray and pathology (e.g. blood or urine test) services.
How do Urgent Care Services support/connect with the primary care system?
The Urgent Care System is intended to complement the role of primary care providers, by improving access to urgent care in appropriate community and virtual settings. Primary care providers are the coordinators of their patients’ healthcare, and Urgent Care Services support this by providing short-term episodic care for urgent illnesses or injuries, with referral of patients back to their primary care provider for ongoing care and care navigation.
For people who have a regular General Practitioner (GP) or are a MyMedicare patient registered with a particular General Practice, information about their use of an Urgent Care Service and the treatment they received can be securely provided to their GP to ensure any follow-up care required can be provided.
Where can I find in-language information about Urgent Care Services?
