Federal Labor has promised to fund bulk-billed urgent care clinics in Darwin and Alice Springs and provide $10 million to purchase a second CareFlight rescue helicopter in the Northern Territory if elected in two weeks.
Announcing the policies in Darwin on Saturday, Shadow Education Minister Tanya Plibersek said the "Medicare urgent care clinics" would take pressure off hospital emergency departments by providing an alternative option for families needing urgent care from a doctor or nurse.
The announcement is part of a $135 million Labor funding promise over four years to establish a trial of 50 such clinics in every state and territory.
"We know that hospitals right across Australia have been under enormous pressure during COVID-19," Ms Plibersek said.
"People are waiting for hours in emergency, and especially during a time when you've got sick people coming in who might have COVID 19, the less time people are spending waiting in hospital emergency, the better.
"Across Australia it's become harder and more expensive to see a GP, so these emergency care clinics mean working with local GPs and working with local health providers to meet that demand in the middle."
Ms Plibersek said the clinics would help address "rising out-of-pocket [healthcare] costs, which only contribute to the strain on household budgets".
The clinics would treat people presenting with things like broken bones, sprains, cuts, wounds, insect bites and minor burns, and Labor would aim to have the them operational within a year, Ms Plibersek said.
"You'll be able to walk in, you'll be able to be bulk-billed, you'll be seen much faster," she said.
"It means that the hospital is better off and the patient is better off."
Ms Plibersek said there were no fixed plans for where the two clinics would be located.
She said a federal Labor government would likely work with existing GPs, community health centres and health providers to establish and run the service.
Federal Labor also announced it would provide $10 million to CareFlight for a second rescue helicopter in the Northern Territory if elected.
Ms Plibersek said the second helicopter would significantly improve remote rescue capability within the Northern Territory.
"We know that CareFlight does amazing work across the Top End, [but] there are times when the one helicopter can't reach all of the patients that require help," she said.
"There are people who are living in small and remote communities who benefit enormously from having the dedicated health professionals that staff these CareFlight helicopters able to come to their communities, and we want to make sure that they're available when they're needed."
