A NEW urgent care clinic will be open by Christmas in a bid to ease the prolonged strain on the city's emergency departments.
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UFS, which will run the Windermere Street clinic, confirmed the festive present for health care early this week in partnership with Western Victoria Primary Health Network.
This will be one of 25 priority care clinics, led by general practitioners, the state government declared in August would open to to provide care during and after-hours for people with less severe conditions, such as mild infections, fractures, and burns.
It is designed as an alternative for those who need urgent attention but not an emergency response.
Ballarat was the first location outside Melbourne to be flagged for a priority care clinic.
Grampians Health confirmed to The Courier on Tuesday that Ballarat Base Hospital's emergency department remained under high pressure with patient demand and staff shortages, despite a seemingly statewide easing in active COVID-19 cases.
This comes as COVID-19 rules are set to change. From Wednesday, Victorians who test positive to COVID-19 are no longer required to isolate.
Grampians Health hospitals chief operating officer Ben Kelly welcomed the impending priority care clinic opening and the chance to work with UFS Medical in alleviating pressure on the Base emergency department.
"The need for a solution to the extended wait-times patients are facing, and the immense pressure on our staff has been long-standing," Mr Kelly said.
"...Often people come through our doors 'just in case' their condition is an emergency, and this new centre will provide them with the peace of mind they need, for a range of aliments."
A new larger, modern emergency department features in the $541.6 million Ballarat Base Hospital overhaul. The need for progressive works were flagged earlier this year to shift emergency to its new location, just off Sturt Street, to help ease acute pressure on the outgrown space.
A time frame for this is unclear.
The latest Victorian Agency for Health quarterly data, released in August, showed the number of severely-ill patients needing immediate treatment in Ballarat was more than 50 per cent higher than the same time last year.
UFS' Windermere Street clinic is in the city's medical precinct and UFS chief executive officer Matt Vagg confirmed there was no charge for treatment, regardless of whether patients present with a Medicare Card.
The clinic will be staffed with general practitioners and nurses. Patients will be triaged on arrival.
UFS submitted a planning application to Ballarat City Council last month to expand its Windermere site opening hours and to fit-out the building's lower level for the expanded clinic. The clinic's upper level already features a medical clinic that runs in business hours.
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