A provider has been selected to operate the new Woden Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, which opens in January.

The Phillip Medical and Dental Centre will operate the clinic at 33 Colbee Court, following a competitive tender process managed by the ACT Primary Health Network.

The clinic will open seven days a week with extended hours and is expected to begin treating patients in the coming months. It will be fully bulk-billed.

Once operating, it is intended to ease pressure on the Canberra Hospital emergency department, where about 44 per cent of presentations in 2023–24 were for semi-urgent or non-urgent conditions.

The Woden clinic will be GP-led and will join Canberra’s existing network of Medicare Urgent Care Clinics in Gungahlin, Belconnen, Dickson, Weston Creek and Tuggeranong. More than 279,000 presentations have been recorded across ACT clinics since mid-2023, contributing to 2.2 million nationwide.

Senator Katy Gallagher said: “Canberrans deserve timely, affordable care close to home. The new Woden Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will give families a place to walk in, be seen quickly, and be fully bulk billed with just a Medicare card.

“This clinic will take real pressure off the Canberra Hospital emergency department by treating urgent but non-life-threatening issues seven days a week.”

Labor MP David Smith said Southside families had asked for faster, easier access to urgent care. “This clinic delivers exactly that for Woden and the Tuggeranong Valley.”

Independent MLA Fiona Carrick said she welcomed the announcement, as “a seven-day, bulk-billed urgent care option will be a real benefit for local families”, but would seek “clear details on opening timing, staffing and how it will meaningfully reduce pressure on the Canberra Hospital ED”.