Urgent care options available during the Easter holidays

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With the Easter holiday period approaching, many general practices will be operating on reduced hours or may close. This can leave patients unsure about where to seek care if they require urgent but non-life-threatening support.

If your general practice is reducing hours or closing during this period, it may be helpful to remind patients about the eight Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) operating across the EMPHN catchment.

These clinics are designed to manage urgent, non-life-threatening conditions and can play a valuable role in reducing unnecessary emergency department presentations, particularly during public holidays.

UCCs operate 14 hours a day, seven days a week, including all public holidays, ensuring patients can still access urgent care when your practice is closed.

UCC services available across the east and north‑east of Melbourne

For more information on UCC locations, please visit EMPHN’s Urgent Care page.

Conditions suitable for UCC patient presentation

Encouraging patients to consider a UCC for appropriate presentations can help ensure they receive timely care while easing pressure on local hospitals.

Patients can attend a UCC without an appointment or referral. A Medicare card is not required to access the service; however, where available, patients should bring their Medicare card.

UCCs can assess and treat a wide range of urgent presentations, including:

• Immediate assessment or treatment needs that do not require emergency department care
• Same day assessment for urgent, non-life-threatening conditions such as:
  • Minor infections
  • Minor fractures, sprains, sports injuries, neck and back pain
  • Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
  • Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
  • Minor cuts
  • Insect bites and rashes
  • Minor eye and ear problems
  • Respiratory illness
  • Gastroenteritis
  • Mild burns

Patients are assessed and prioritised according to clinical urgency, not order of arrival. Depending on demand and service capacity, some patients may be redirected to an alternative appropriate service to support safe and timely care.

Useful patient resources

The following resources may assist patients in understanding how UCCs work and what to expect:

• UCC Patient Resource – Video
• UCC Patient Resources – Animated Videos
• UCC Patient Resource – Fact Sheets
• UCC Patient Resources – Translated Resources

Other urgent care services available within the EMPHN catchment

• Victorian Virtual Emergency Department: Home – Victorian Virtual Emergency Department
• NURSE-ON-CALL 24/7 Service: NURSE-ON-CALL: 1300 60 60 24 | healthdirect