ACT Medicare Local welcomes the independent evaluation of the Walk-in Centre (WIC), the first public nurse-led WIC in Australia. The evaluation has identified a number of areas which require improvement, including the model of care and effectiveness.
“The continuum of patient-centric care is our primary focus. We are concerned the current WIC nurse-led model of care is a ‘silo’ approach to health care. This is contrary to current and future projections for primary health care to have a multi-disciplinary approach,” said ACT Medicare Local President, Dr Rashmi Sharma.
To ensure the continuum of patient care, the ACT Medicare Local encourages the WIC to be co-located within general practice.
“We support PN (Practice Nurses) and NP (Nurse Practitioners) in primary health care and call for a collaborative care model with general practice. A GP-assisted model of care with a multidisciplinary team in an interdependent and co-operative relationship, structured around a GP providing complex medical care, is a far better model,” said Dr Sharma.
There are over 170 nurses currently working in general practices throughout the ACT.
“We call on the ACT Government to fund PN and NP positions in general practice. An integrated model provides the best outcome for the community both in terms of costs and quality,” said Dr Sharma.
One objective of the WIC was to reduce demand on the emergency department (ED) at The Canberra Hospital (TCH). The evaluation shows this has failed as the number of triage category 4 and 5 services at the TCH-ED increased during the first 12 months of operation of the Centre, whereas in the same period the same services declined at Calvary Hospital ED.
“We question the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the WIC. Within the constraints of a tight health budget, general practice has higher productivity and delivers quality care at a fraction of the cost,” said Dr Sharma.
“Apart from increasing pressure on TCH-ED, our GP members have not reported a noticeable reduction in pressure on general practice since the WIC opened. In fact, following treatment at the WIC more than 21% of patients are redirected to GPs for further treatment,” said Dr Sharma.
“We urge the ACT Government to consider the evaluation recommendations and make the required changes to ensure the continuum of care for all Canberrans,” Dr Sharma said.
For more information please phone Roz Lemon on 0417 179 314 or email
media@actdgp.asn.au.