Mr COMBET (Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change) (4:21 PM) —I wish to update the House on an issue of relevance to my electorate of Charlton in New South Wales. I am pleased to announce that the Rudd Labor government’s commitment to contribute $2.5 million to a GP superclinic in the Charlton electorate is well and truly in the process of being delivered. Waratah Medical Services at Morriset signed a contract for the provision of the superclinic in February, and work has already commenced on the development of this important service. With the doctor-to-patient ratio running at around one GP to 2,000 people in my electorate, in particular in this area—which is well above the national average—a GP superclinic is critical. The significant shortage of GPs means that patients often experience long delays in gaining an appointment, and new patients to the area may not be able to see a GP locally. This also places enormous pressure on GPs, who struggle to keep up with the demand for their services.

The superclinic is located in Morisset, in the southern end of my electorate, and it is an area of targeted growth under state government planning arrangements. The superclinic will deliver the next generation of much-needed front-line primary healthcare services to the community and will have a range of health services available in just one location. This will provide greater convenience to patients, improve access to essential and primary healthcare services, and reduce the burden on hospitals for non-urgent attendances at casualty departments.

The proposed service mix consists of, but is not limited to, general practitioner services, complementary services including things such as after-hours care, visiting specialists, pathology, diagnostic services, pharmaceutical and dental services, services to support aged care, mental health, chronic disease management and preventative health care. In fact, Hunter-New England Health will have some services operating out of the facility, and there will be a training program for GP placements from the nearby University of Newcastle. Specialist medical practitioners from the Sanatorium hospital group have also expressed an interest in providing services to the clinic, as has a cardiac specialist from Newcastle.

It is expected that federal Labor’s commitment to develop the GP superclinic will tackle health workforce shortages in the area by encouraging the retention of locally trained GPs. Waratah Medical Services also recognise the importance of training medical students by providing high-quality education and training opportunities—which will help address the chronic medical workforce shortage in the region.

I am pleased to say that the superclinic will provide integrated health services to meet the needs and priorities of the local community and that some services, such as the X-ray facilities, will be operational by mid-2009, and the entire clinic should be operational by early 2010.