People in Orange will be able to visit a doctor on weekends with the opening of a new extended-hours GP service from this weekend.
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The Orange After-Hours GP Clinic will operate from 1pm-5pm on Saturdays and 9am-2pm on Sundays and public holidays to meet demand for medical services.
Appointments will not be required as the service will operate on a walk-in basis.
Western NSW Primary Health Network acting CEO Robert Strickland said the service would also offer bulk-billing.
He said the clinic would operate at the Bloomfield Medical Centre on Forest Road, opposite the Orange Hospital.
Mr Strickland said it would initially operate for a trial over several months to assess demand.
Other factors including obtaining federal government funding would enable the service to become a permanent fixture.
"This new initiative is all about improving access to after-hours primary healthcare with a tailored service for the Orange community with local GPs able to assist patients who are unable to wait to see their usual GP because of urgent medical conditions," he said.
It will also help ease weekend demand on the emergency department at the public hospital.
A similiar service already exists in Bathurst and Dubbo and the WNSWPHN has been working for some time to set it up in Orange.
Bloomfield Medical Group CEO Jenny Edwards said they would be rostering GPs from Orange to provide the service.
"Orange GPs are already supporting community health initiatives located at Bloomfield such as the COVID-19 Respiratory Clinic and Vaccination Clinic," she said.
"It's great to now be able to deliver the further benefit of an after-hours service."
It starts on Saturday May 8.
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