Page 4352 - Week 12 - Thursday, 24 October 2019
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Importantly, the location of the walk-in centre is close to public transport links, as well as to parking. The walk-in centre will be situated within the Weston Creek community health centre and will support a range of community health services appropriate to the demands of the growing Weston Creek and Molonglo community. The community health centre has been designed to provide the flexibility to share facilities, including reception and waiting areas and treatment and education spaces, to ensure that the Weston Creek walk-in centre will form an integral part of the community health services available in the region.
I look forward to opening the Weston Creek walk-in centre towards the end of this year and look forward to its being as well utilised and highly regarded as the other walk-in centres across the city. I look forward to seeing the response of the members for Murrumbidgee on the other side of the chamber when the walk-in centre opens, whether they welcome it or whether they criticise it, as they have continued to do our network of walk-in centres, which are so beloved by Canberrans for helping them access the right care at the right time, when and where they need it.
MS CHEYNE: Minister, could you update the Assembly on the future of Canberra’s walk-in centres?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Ms Cheyne for the supplementary question and her interest in the future of Canberra’s walk-in centres. As I outlined earlier, the fifth walk-in centre will be in the inner north, in the electorate of Kurrajong that the Chief Minister and I are so proud to represent.
Early designs have been completed and the centre will be located within the Dickson community health centre, not far from the Dickson interchange for the light rail stop. The design will provide multi-use treatment rooms that may be utilised as either walk-in centre treatment spaces or for community health centre services similar to the Weston Creek walk-in centre. Construction will commence early next year and will be completed by the end of 2020.
The Dickson walk-in centre and community health centre, again, will offer a range of health services aimed at assisting clients to better manage their health conditions in the community and closer to home. The Dickson community health centre will continue to offer podiatry and foot care services for adults who hold a Centrelink pension or healthcare card. It will also continue to offer maternal and child health services, including one-on-one appointments with nurses and group education sessions.
The delivery of a fifth walk-in centre will deliver on ACT Labor’s 2016 election commitment to provide a network of five nurse-led walk-in centres across the five geographic regions of our city.
We are constantly reviewing the health data as part of territory-wide planning to inform the needs of the community for the delivery of future health services, and Canberrans can be assured that our ACT Labor government will continue to deliver better health services where and when Canberrans need them. Of course we are still waiting for any positive health announcements from those opposite.
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