Residents in Perth's far northern suburbs have received a significant healthcare boost with the confirmation of a new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic for Yanchep. The facility is a direct response to the area's pressing need for accessible medical services while plans for a full hospital remain on the distant horizon.
A Vital Service for a Growing Community
The Federal Government has designated the Lagoon Medical Centre to operate the new clinic from 15 Ikara Lane inside the ECU Health Centre. It is expected to commence operations in the coming months. The clinic will function as a fully bulk-billed service for all Medicare card holders, requiring no appointment, and will treat a range of urgent but non-life-threatening conditions.
These conditions include minor injuries such as cuts, burns, sprains, and broken bones. Pearce MP Tracey Roberts hailed the announcement as "fantastic news" for Yanchep, Two Rocks, and the broader northern corridor of her electorate. She credited strong community advocacy for the result, stating it demonstrated a "community first" approach in action.
Targeting Emergency Department Overload
A primary goal of the new clinic is to alleviate the strain on the emergency department at Joondalup Hospital. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler emphasised this point, noting that the Yanchep clinic would be open seven days a week with extended hours.
"This clinic will take pressure off the local hospitals, including Joondalup Hospital, and will fill an important gap in services across extended hours and over the weekend," Mr Butler said. The data supports this strategy: in the 2024–25 period, approximately 34 per cent of presentations at Joondalup Hospital were classified as semi-urgent or non-urgent.
The Yanchep clinic will become the 12th Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Western Australia and the second north of Joondalup, joining an existing facility in Clarkson. Nationally, since the program began in June 2023, 118 clinics have treated over 2.4 million patients, including around 260,500 in WA.
The Long-Term Hospital Question
The announcement comes amid ongoing calls from the community for a fully-fledged hospital in Yanchep to service the rapidly developing northern suburbs. While the State Government has allocated $24 million for 60 new beds at Joondalup Hospital in the latest budget, a Yanchep hospital is not imminent.
Premier Roger Cook has previously stated that while a hospital is planned for the area, more population growth is required before it can proceed. "You can’t have a hospital, essentially, with staff standing by beds ticking over slowly, waiting for the people to come," Mr Cook said last year. "We know where it’s going to go... These things are all being planned."
For now, the new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic represents a critical intermediate step, delivering immediate, cost-free access to urgent medical care for thousands of residents and providing a tangible solution to reduce non-critical emergency department visits.
