Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith says Canberrans want more local health services. Claire Fenwicke.
A new free imaging service will be established in Belconnen and a new health centre built in the growing district if Labor is returned to government on 19 October.
Labor says northside residents will have access to free x-rays and ultrasounds with a new medical imaging service co-located with the Belconnen Walk-in Centre.
This will mean patients presenting at the Walk-in Centre can obtain medical imaging immediately, without needing to book another service or visit a different location.
Labor says providing more imaging services in the community will help to free up imaging services at the ACT’s hospitals and reduce wait times for patients with urgent and complex needs.
Canberrans will also be able to book an x-ray or ultrasound through the Canberra Health Services booking system or be referred by a GP.
The planned new service follows the co-location last year of the medical imaging service at the Weston Creek Community Health Centre, which was a 2020 election promise.
Labor says more than 11,000 patients have used the imaging service at Weston Creek since 1 June 2023, and since then about 3000 patients attended a Walk-in Centre and received an x-ray the same day.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen Smith said this model had been very successful and Labor was replicating it at Belconnen.
“What we’ve done in Weston Creek has really demonstrated the success of this model co-locating imaging with our walk-in centres, and so we’ve taken advice about which was the walk in centre that would be best on the northside, to have medical imaging co located,” she said.
“To be able to have that all done on site is going to be a real bonus for those people, but also to ensure that people from the rest of Canberra’s north who need that medical imaging can come here to something that’s based in the community rather than having to go on to the busy hospital campus.”
Ms Stephen-Smith said Labor would continue to expand the range of care available at the walk-in centres, which the Canberra Liberals have never supprted.
“They have continued to not make any comment about whether they would support walk-in centres which are incredibly popular and successful ACT model of healthcare delivery that is being looked at by other jurisdictions around the country,” she said.
If re-elected, Labor said it would also start construction on the planned new health centre in West Belconnen.
The new health centre will be sited in McNamara to service the growing Ginninderry community and nearby suburbs. It will be staffed by a multi-disciplinary team of nursing, medical and allied health professionals.
Labor will also expand the planned North Gungahlin Health Centre in Casey to include spaces for community organisations, where they could hold information sessions, parent group meetings and classes to promote health and wellbeing.
The last Budget allocated $53 million for the design, construction and feasibility work for the West Belconnen centre.
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