Page 2643 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 7 August 2013
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hospital, then to evaluate it after 12 to 18 months to demonstrate that the service was safe and high quality and then look at expanding it out to the community, which is exactly what we are doing with the new ones that will open in Belconnen later this year and in Tuggeranong next year.
Every single time the walk-in centre is raised I get people talking with me and putting things on Twitter about how much they love the service. When this issue arose a couple of weeks ago I got responses on my Twitter page, for example:
I used it about a year ago. Nurse was so great I wanted to hug her.
Another:
Attended the Walk in Centre the other day—super service and friendly staff! Great initiative!
Another:
I love this service, never long to wait to see a nurse. Exceptional clinical practice and staff. Better than some GPs.
It goes on:
Would be good to see a walk in clinic in Gungahlin.
Another one:
As a working mum of 3 kids I have used the walk in centre many times. Fantastic service.
More comments:
The Walk-in Centre is brilliant … Why does the opposition think their only job is to “oppose”? Why can’t they come up with “constructive alternatives” …
People love the walk-in centre. They love it. It is out-of-hours extended care, easy to get into, free and quality care. That is what the walk-in centre offers the people of Canberra. And it is not only seen—
Mr Hanson: You shouldn’t have lied about what effect it would have on ED, minister. That’s the problem.
MS GALLAGHER: And, yes, we wanted it to relieve pressure on the emergency department, and we believed having it there could, potentially, achieve that, and I have to say the jury is still out on what its impact has been. As I said in question time, I do not think it will ever be proven because the increases in presentations to the emergency department were happening in the years before the walk-in centre opened and they have continued afterwards. And they have continued at the hospital where there is no walk-in centre. I could easily stand here and argue that the walk-in centre eased the pressure—maybe the presentations to the Canberra Hospital would have
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