The ACT government has reached an agreement with the new operators of a Molonglo Valley medical centre to open a new walk-in health centre.
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The planned health centre had stalled after the medical centre's old operator, the National Health Co-Op, entered voluntary administration in June.
The Coombs walk-in health centre was due to open in July, but the ACT government pulled out of negotiations with the National Health Co-Op after it went into administration.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the new centre would deliver on a Labor election commitment to co-locate the facility with an existing general practice in the Molonglo Valley.
"It was no doubt a relief to the Molonglo community when the administrators announced in September that Palm Healthcare would be taking over the Coombs practice, to be known as the Molonglo Valley Medical Centre," Ms Stephen-Smith said in a statement.
"Since that time, the government has worked with Palm Healthcare to progress the health centre's co-location in Coombs.
"I am pleased to say that agreement has been reached for the ACT Government to lease space from the Molonglo Valley Medical Centre to provide the local community with accessible, affordable healthcare closer to home."
Ms Stephen-Smith said the government would work with Palm Healthcare and other local health care providers, alongside the community, to determine the services to be offered at the clinic.
"As we move out of lockdown, we will also re-engage with the community on the co-design of new Walk-in Health Centres in south Tuggeranong, the inner south, west Belconnen and north Gungahlin to provide better public health care across Canberra's suburbs," she said.
ACT Labor promised in the lead up to the October 2020 ACT election five new nurse-led walk-in centres would be built.
As well as walk-in centres, each new centre would be a community health centre, which would include appointment-based services, with focuses to be decided in consultation with the local community.
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Services that could be included at the community health centres include preventive services like healthy eating, oral health and alcohol and drug use, as well as supporting chronic illnesses like arthritis, heart disease and diabetes.
The not-for-profit and member-owned National Health Co-Op, which opened its doors in 2010 and grew to have an estimated 4 per cent of all bulk-billed GP appointments, entered voluntary administration in June.
The organisation said the end of JobKeeper and "recent staff changes" had left an "insurmountable" forecast deficit.
Administrator Michael Slaven wrote to workers in September to say the co-op had entered into contracts for clinics at Coombs, Evatt, Higgins, Kippax and Macquarie to be restructured into independently owned and operated GP clinics under different names.
The new operators are Palm Healthcare, Evatt Medical Centre, Belconnen Way Medical Centre, and Akod Medical Services.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
