Where to go for urgent care
Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network (EMPHN) supports after-hours urgent care. We do this with Priority Primary Care Centres and the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department. These essential services can help you to avoid long waits in hospital emergency departments.
What is urgent care?
Most injuries and illnesses don’t need a trip to hospital. But, sometimes you do need to see a doctor or nurse quickly, and your usual general practitioner might not be available. In these cases, you might need a service called ‘urgent care’.
These situations might include injuries such as burns or sprains. They might also include suspected broken bones or a sudden illness. The illness makes you feel bad enough to need help, but not so bad that you need to call an ambulance.
Priority Primary Care Centres
Priority Primary Care Centres (PPCCs) are led by GPs and are funded by the Victorian Government. These centres are designed to:
- Improve access to health services outside of a hospital or specialist (primary care), particularly in the after-hours period.
- Ease pressure on emergency departments.
PPCCs are supporting nearby hospital emergency departments by providing care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions, such as mild infections, fractures and burns. They also offer pathology and imaging services onsite or nearby.
Care is available to anyone with or without a Medicare card, at no initial cost to the patient. However, please note that there may be additional costs involved for imaging, pathology and other services.
Locations and contact details
| Centre | Bookings | Contact details |
|---|---|---|
| Epping Priority Primary Care Centre (supporting Northern Hospital) | Tel: (03) 9422 2220 or online 8am- 10pm daily | Shop 216, Epping Plaza Regional Centre, 571–583 High Street, Epping |
Glen Waverley Priority Primary Care Centre (supporting Monash Hospital) | Tel: (03) 8827 0740 or online 10am – midnight daily | 476 Blackburn Road, Glen Waverley |
Heidelberg Priority Primary Care Centre (supporting Austin Hospital) | Tel: (03) 9000 9276 or online 10am – midnight daily | 455 Upper Heidelberg Road, Heidelberg Heights More information |
| Forest Hill Priority Primary Care Centre (supporting Box Hill Hospital) | Tel: (03) 8804 1940 or online 8am – 10pm daily | Forest Hill Medical and Dental Centre, 490/524 Springvale Road, Forest Hill |
| Maroondah Primary Care Centre (supporting Maroondah Hospital) | Tel: (03) 9344 6888 or online 8am-10pm daily | Mountain High Shopping Centre,Shop 28, 7–13 High Street, Bayswater |
| Monash Paediatric PPCC (supporting the Monash Children’s Hospital) | Tel: (03) 9284 2716 or online Mon to Fri: 6pm–11pm | 246 Clayton Rd, Clayton (co-located with Monash Children’s Hospital) |
Fact sheets
Please click the links below to access PPCC fact sheets in languages that are commonly spoken within the EMPHN catchment.
Victorian Virtual Emergency Department and Nurse-on-call service
The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) is a free public health service for non-life-threatening emergencies. It provides online access to emergency care anywhere in Victoria — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you or a loved one is seriously sick or injured, but you’re unsure what to do next, the VVED is a great place to start. From the comfort of your own home, you can quickly speak to an emergency physician who can assess your condition and work out what to do next.
Services offered by the VVED include self-care advice, prescriptions, and referrals for tests, scans or other local services (which in some cases may be to the nearest emergency department).
All you need to access the VVED is a smartphone, tablet or computer with a camera.
NURSE-ON-CALL is a free phone service available 24 hours a day on 1300 60 60 24. Registered nurses provide caring and professional advice to address your health-related questions and concerns.