The success or failure of a $2.1million walk-in clinic at Canberra Hospital will determine whether the ACT Government establishes similar free clinics across the capital, Health Minister Katy Gallagher says.
The Government funded the clinic in this month's budget and expects it to cater for up to 30,000 visits a year.
It will be staffed by nurse practitioners with advanced degrees and experience, and will have 15 full-time-equivalent workers.
Doctors and pharmacists' groups have offered cautious support to the plan and Ms Gallagher said the heat was on the clinic to succeed.
''I've really got to demonstrate that the model in the hospital can work, that it can take some pressure off, that it actually feeds into the work that GPs are doing,'' she said.
''If I can do all that ... then I think moving [walk-in clinics] out to the community will be a bit easier. But at the moment we don't have support from the professional groups for that.''
Ms Gallagher said she did not think the nurse-led clinic would be a failure, but a lack of support from GP and pharmacy groups could undermine the scheme.
''I think one of the things that will be measured is whether there's a lot of complaints, whether patient safety has been enhanced or compromised,'' she said.
''This will be a real test for the success or failure of nurse-led clinics in the ACT and that's why I've taken so long to get it right.''
Read the Australian Nursing Federation's response in today's Canberra Times
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