Associate Professor John Adie knows his enthusiastic support for the Federal Government’s urgent care centres is at odds with many GPs, as well as the RACGP’s public statements.

Chair of the RACGP’s Urgent and Emergency Presentations to Primary Care Specific Interests group, Professor Adie trained in New Zealand — where the model is long established — and has completed a PhD on urgent care.

“The GP is the centre of the patient’s healthcare journey, but at times, patients need to see a doctor immediately and there are no suitable appointments,” the Brisbane GP says.

“So there needs to be another option.