The Health Insurance Fund of Australia (HIF) has today announced a new partnership with St John Urgent Care Centres to provide no-gap urgent care consultations to HIF members across all five Perth Centres.
With concerns raised around long wait times in hospital emergency rooms, St John Urgent Care Centres provide an alternative option with urgent care treatment for non-life-threatening injuries or illnesses such as sprains, broken bones, mild cuts and more.
Through the partnership, HIF members can receive care without the need to visit the emergency department and without fees for the urgent care consultations.
Open seven days a week, the five St John Urgent Care Centres are strategically situated across the Perth metropolitan region, with extended operating hours to suit the needs of Perth’s growing community. The partnership aims to alleviate the need for West Australians to travel to their local emergency department for treatment of urgent care needs.
Led by an experienced team of healthcare professionals, St John WA’s Urgent Care Centres house a specialist team of doctors and nurses, providing patients with the convenience of accessing immediate specialist health services in one location.
HIF CEO, Justin James said the partnership will provide broader choice to HIF members who are seeking unscheduled care or treatment for urgent care needs.
“HIF is committed to supporting our members by providing a broad range of choice and access to healthcare providers. Our member-first approach has naturally guided us to explore options to provide members with services that operate outside of hours at no additional cost to them.
“Through HIF’s partnership with St John WA our members can have the choice to seek assistance at an Urgent Care Centre with the assurance of knowing that they will be provided with quality care,” said James.
The partnership supports the aligned strategic direction for HIF and St John WA, which are focused on closing the gap to healthcare access in Western Australia.
St John WA Urgent Care Medical Director, Dr John O’Toole said the partnership will play a core role in supporting HIF members and the broader Western Australian community with access to unscheduled care.
“St John WA believes that creating alternate care pathways for unscheduled care, such as Urgent Care, will assist in closing the gap to accessible healthcare services. At our Urgent Care Centres, patients can access a range of diagnostic and treatment means.
“St John WA Urgent Care Centres continue to play a key role in supporting the local community, providing more convenient access to quality care and reducing stress on emergency departments,” said Dr John O’Toole.
St John Urgent Care Centres are strategically located in the suburbs of Armadale, Joondalup, Cockburn, Midland and Cannington.
The partnership follows on from HIF’s latest initiative with St John WA’s fundraising arm, St John Giving, where the two organisations launched a new Community Transport Service to support Bunbury residents with access to quality care.
To find out more about this partnership and the HIF member benefits , visit our St John Urgent Care Centre webpage.