More than four months after it closed down temporarily to free up medical staff during the busy Christmas period, Bulli Hospital's urgent care centre will reopen next week.
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After months of difficulty trying to find doctors to work at the centre, the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District says it will reopen the centre under a "nurse-led model of care".
This will enable patients to be seen and assessed by specialist nurses who will work with medical teams to deliver treatment and a management plan for patients, the district said.
News of the reopening comes just days after residents started a petition to get the service back open, after some became concerned the northern suburbs medical service - which is used by many as an alternative to the busy Wollongong emergency department - had been "closed by stealth".
Announcing the reopening, district chief Margot Mains thanked the community for their understanding and paid tribute to Bulli staff for supporting their colleagues to respond to increases in emergency demand during a "challenging time".
"We appreciate the temporary suspension of services at Bulli has been inconvenient for northern Illawarra residents and I thank the community for their patience and understanding," she said.
"However, there was an absolute need to redeploy staff from Bulli to support areas of greatest need, which included hospital inpatient wards and our emergency departments."
"As the community is aware, our emergency departments have been dealing with significant increases in demand, higher numbers of seriously unwell patients and fluctuations in the number of staff available to work on any given day because of illness or isolation requirements."
The centre will start its new care model from next Monday (May 9), initially opening for 12 hours a day, five days a week - 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday.
"We will re-open via a staged approach as staff availability across the LHD remains a challenge," Ms Mains said, adding that the district hoped to return the centre to a seven day a week service once there were more staff available.
"It also gives us an opportunity to assess the implementation of the nurse-led model and look at further improvements in the ongoing delivery of care to the community from the centre."
She said the urgent care centre would continue to provide treatment for minor injuries and illnesses, similar to a GP.
Patients with more serious, complex or emergency conditions will still require transfer to Wollongong Hospital's emergency department, which provides a higher level of care.
"Now more than ever, it is important for the community to understand how to best utilise local health services for their circumstances," Ms Mains said.
"Keep emergency departments for emergencies, use the urgent care centre and GPs for minor injuries and illness, and talk to your pharmacist or Healthdirect for advice to manage minor symptoms."
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
