A Little About Ursula

Ursula Stephens is a NSW Labor Senator-  actively involved in the third sector in Australia. Ursula is a strong advocate for social innovation, social entrepreneurship and social inclusion. She mentors social entrepreneurs and supports social enterprises across Australia.

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Queanbeyan Super Clinic opening boosts frontline health services

More than half a million services have been completed at the Gillard Government’s GP Super Clinics across the country, in another sign that national health reform is delivering real results for Australians.

Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon announced the milestone with NSW Senator Ursula Stephens today at the official opening of the Queanbeyan GP Super Clinic, New South Wales. “Boosting frontline healthcare infrastructure is critical to make it easier for Australians to see and contact a doctor, closer to home,” Minister Roxon said. "Our 14 operational clinics have already provided more than half a million services for patients across the country. And today, the Queanbeyan GP Super Clinic officially opens to continue to add to that number, after the new building opened for business on 14 June. Already this Clinic is taking up to 40 more appointments a day than the old clinic, clearly showing that Queanbeyan needed better health infrastructure to help local patients get access to doctors and allied health professionals. The new team here at the Queanbeyan GP Super Clinic will offer a new level of integrated, multidisciplinary, team-based, patient-centred healthcare all under one roof.”

Senator Stephens said the new clinic represented a critical boost of Queanbeyan’s frontline health care services. “The opening of the Queanbeyan GP Super Clinic is great news for the people of Queanbeyan. Bringing together key health services in one place is the future of health care. Now Queanbeyan locals can visit their GP, see a nurse or a pathologist and pick up their medicine from the pharmacy all in one location. I have worked with the Queanbeyan City Council to resolve some planning issues around this project, and I am happy to see the new Queanbeyan GP Super Clinic open today”.

The Queanbeyan GP Super Clinic has been established in association with the Crawford Street Medical Clinic, which has served the health needs of the area for more than 50 years. The new expanded Clinic includes more consultation rooms, expanded pathology facilities and a new pharmacy. An imaging provider and more allied health providers are expected to be secured for the Clinic shortly. The Clinic is opening with 12 GPs and 6 nurses and is also providing audiology, speech pathology, acupuncture, cosmetic medicine and psychology services. The Clinic will also act as training hub for the next generation of health professionals and aims to host up to 6 registrars, 10 medical students and 6 nursing students.

“Illness and injury do not keep business hours and one of the key aims of GP Super Clinics is that they should be more readily available to the people who use them,” Ms Roxon said. “Importantly, the Clinic is also already working with the nearby Queanbeyan Hospital, taking GP-type patients who present to the emergency department when this is needed”.

The Queanbeyan GP Super Clinic is holding after-hours consultations from 6pm to 9pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays; 9am to noon on Saturdays and 10am to noon on Sundays. The Gillard Government invested $5m into the Queanbeyan GP Super Clinic. The Gillard Government is investing $650 million to build more than 60 GP Super Clinics and invest in more than 400 infrastructure programs in GP clinics around the country. 32 GP Super Clinics are either open, delivering early services or under construction.

Other Gillard Government investments in and around the Monaro region include:
• $160m for the construction of the new Bega Hospital
• $29.7m for the Capital Region Cancer Centre
• $5m for the Jindabyne GP Super Clinic
• $12m for a 20 rehabilitation unit at Moruya Hospital
• More than $3.4m for National Rural and Remote Infrastructure programs, including at the NSW Rural Doctors Network, Braidwood Dental Practice and the Cooma Medical Trust.
• $80,000 for the ANU to purchase equipment to support medical student placements in Queanbeyan
• $34,500 for a medical ventilator paediatric resuscitation trolley for Queanbeyan Hospital
• Funding for 6 additional GP registrars and 1509 medical, nursing and allied health clinical training days.