THE ACT government has announced its fifth nurse-led walk-in centre, this time it’s a $9.8 million centre in Dickson that will open late next year. 

The new walk-in centre will be co-located at the Dickson Community Health Centre along Dickson Place.

On making the announcement, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said existing centres in Belconnen and Tuggeranong were seeing more than 22,500 presentations a year and since the Gungahlin centre opened six months ago, it had already seen more than 10,000 presentations.

He said the walk-in centres provided free health care for non-urgent injuries or illnesses such as coughs and colds or cuts and abrasions from minor accidents.

“Giving Canberrans access to nurse-led care not only means they can get seen sooner for these injuries or illnesses, but also helps take pressure off our emergency departments,” he said. 

Executive director of the Health Care Consumers’ Association Darlene Cox said: “We are very pleased to see government investment to build on the existing number of walk-in centres and provide access to this service for the growing population of the inner north.”

Mr Barr said the government investment would be used to upgrade the existing Dickson Community Health Centre, with four treatment rooms added for the new walk-in centre within the building’s existing footprint.

Construction was underway on Canberra’s fourth walk-in centre in Weston Creek, which was due to see patients by the end of this year. With the location now decided for the new Inner North Walk-in Centre, this is planned to start taking patients in late 2020.