Five months after a liquidator was appointed and after several intermittent closures, the UCC has finally shut its doors.
The Mount Gambier Urgent Care Clinic shut its doors on Tuesday last week, leaving the town with no urgent care alternative to the local hospital emergency department.
It comes after a troubled few months for the clinic. SV Partners Liquidators were appointed in January 2025 by the Federal Court of Australia and have continued to operate the clinic.
However, according to an article in local news website SE Voice, staff shortages and difficulty sourcing locum doctors were plaguing the clinic. They were hopeful of a buyout, but when that fell through last week, the only other option was closure.
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In a statement Country SA PHN said it was disappointed by the closure.
“Country SA PHN have been working collaboratively with SV Partners to ensure the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic continued providing urgent care to the community of Mount Gambier and surrounds,” the statement said.
“Country SA PHN is disappointed SV Partners have been unable to secure an alternative service provider resulting in an unavoidable temporary closure.”
However, the Australian Medical Association said the failure of the clinic was a ‘stark warning’ about the consequences of short-term and short-sighted healthcare models in regional communities.
“This closure confirms what the AMA has been warning for some time: urgent care clinics, if poorly planned and disconnected from local services, can do more harm than good,” AMA SA president, Associate Professor Peter Subramaniam said.
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“UCCs were introduced to reduce emergency department pressure. But rather than relieving strain they often exacerbate it – drawing workforce away from general practice, fragmenting care and undermining the very services that communities rely on for continuity and chronic disease management.
“The closure of the Mount Gambier Urgent Care Clinic has now left the local community with fewer healthcare options, increasing the pressure on local general practices and the hospital emergency department.”
A spokesperson from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said in a statement:
“The Medicare UCC program plays a vital role in delivering accessible, urgent care to communities across Australia. The department is committed to working closely with CSAPHN to re-establish urgent care services for the Mount Gambier community as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, Country SA PHN continues its hunt for a new commissioned service provider.
“Country SA PHN is confident that a suitable provider will be secured as quickly as possible to give certainty to the local community that there will be a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic they can attend to receive urgent care,” it said in the statement.
However, the AMA doesn’t want another cookie cutter clinic.
“Urgent care clinics are not an adequate solution to Australia’s health system challenges, and the Australian Government’s focus on their expansion prior to the election is a missed opportunity to deliver real, systemic improvements,” Professor Subramaniam said.
“The people of Mount Gambier deserve long-term solutions – and that starts with sustainable investment in general practice, not pop-up models that collapse when the staffing dries up.
“The AMA urges both the state and federal governments to consult closely with local clinicians and ensure any future models are designed to support – not compete with – established care.”
The government is seeking expressions of interest from new organisations interested in running the clinic.
