APNA welcomes nurse-led Medicare Urgent Care Clinics

ACT Nurse-led Walk-in Centres to boost access to quality health care 

Media Release 18 October 2023 

The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) welcomes the announcement that the six ACT nurse-led walk-in centres will provide expanded services as they join the Medicare Urgent Care Clinics program.   

Led by Nurse Practitioners and backed by a team of advanced practice nurses, the ACT clinics will provide more health care service options for Canberra residents. Nurse Practitioners have advanced practice skills and can make comprehensive assessments and provide immediate care and treatment or refer to hospital or for further medical assessment as needed.  

“Nurse Practitioners are highly skilled clinicians, and this announcement recognises the success of the walk-in Centres since 2010,” APNA President Karen Booth said. “These clinics are an example of nurse skills being used effectively to improve access to timely care in conjunction with other ACT health services.”   

The ACT Walk-in Centres have been part of the ACT Health system since 2010. Operating between 7:30am and 10:00pm, 365 days per year they provide around 70,000 occasions of care annually.  Expanding the model of care to include allied health responds to contemporary research which identifies multidisciplinary teams as being able to provide excellent patient care.