Future of Joondalup Health Campus after hours GP clinic no longer uncertain following media attention

Private hospital provider Ramsay Health Care says its after hours GP clinic in Joondalup will not be closing, just hours after media reported its future was under review. A Joondalup Health Campus spokeswoman confirmed the clinic would remain open, despite earlier telling The West Australian the service was still under review and refusing to answer specific questions about the future of the centre. It wasn’t until The West and other media outlets published stories on Friday that a one-line statement was issued. “Following the review of the after hours GP Clinic at Joondalup Health Campus, a decision has been made to continue the service,” the spokeswoman wrote. The after hours GP Clinic at Joondalup Health Campus has been providing medical care to patients, who need urgent care but do not need to visit the emergency department, for more than 21 years. Uncertainty brought about by the review had fuelled concerns of a closure that would put one of the busiest emergency departments in Australia under even more pressure. The website advises the after hours clinic usually operates weeknights from 7pm to 11pm, however, operations have come into question recently with the service often closing early. This has annoyed people who found the doors closed earlier than expected. “We drove 40 minutes to find out (at 9.30pm) that it was closed, despite the sign outside saying til 11,” one person wrote on Google reviews two months ago. “No other urgent cares would be open by the time we left Joondalup to go elsewhere, and the ED was completely full.” Patients are now advised to phone the hospital before attending to get the latest information. Australian Medical Association WA president Kyle Hoath shared concerns after hearing of the clinic review. “We would be concerned by any move to close or wind back an after hours GP clinic at JHC at a time when WA emergency departments are under sustained pressure,” he said. “Such clinics exist to provide urgent GP-level care after hours, that treat a wide range of conditions that could otherwise end up in ED. “JHC operates under a public-private partnership arrangement and decisions that affect after hours GP access and ED demand have clear system-wide implications. “JHC is a major hospital for Perth’s northern corridor, and its ED managed 97,624 presentations in 2023-24, so any action that results in a narrowing of access to after hours primary care needs to be approached very carefully and transparently.”