Medical service unused

UPPER Yarra residents are being urged to make better use of the after-hours medical service which opened in Yarra Junction in December.
Sally Brennan, a member of the Upper Yarra Community Building Initiative (UYCBI) which played a major role in securing the long-awaited service, said many people are unaware it opened in December.
McEwen MP Fran Bailey announced a $600,000 funding package for the clinic in October last year, with the Eastern Ranges GP Association as service provider.
The clinic opened just before Christmas, but Ms Brennan and Yarra Junction businesswoman Jaqui Hall, who was also involved in the writing the submission for funding, said last week they were unaware until just a couple of weeks ago that it actually up and running.
“The sign outside the clinic still says ‘opening soon’ and we are getting people coming in saying ‘when is it going to happen’,” Ms Brennan said.
“We are right here in the township every day and if we didn’t know it was open, how many others would not know,” she said.
Ms Hall said there was also uncertainty about the purpose of the clinic, with a number of people saying they believed it was an emergency clinic.
“We didn’t get funding for an emergency service, we got it for an after-hours medical service. People need to understand that this is just what it says, after-hours health care.”
Yvonne Wrigglesworth, Knowledge Leader for Practice Development Team with Eastern Ranges GP Association, said the service aimed to take away the strain from hospital emergency departments and took into account the fact that the Upper Yarra area doesn’t have a locum service.
“It is there for anything you would normally go to a doctor for; for a child with an earache, for example, it can be almost unbearable to wait until morning.
“We encourage everyone to call triage on 1300 766 858 to speak to the qualified triage nurses who can indicate what needs to be done. “Using the after hours clinic as your regular GP, however, is not advised,” Ms Wrigglesworth said.
The CBI has funded an awareness campaign with letter drops, pamphlets and a mobile banner urging people to use the service.
While the service has been funded for two years, Ms Brennan said people have to demonstrate that it is meeting a real need in the Upper Yarra communities and that residents support it.