THE pressure on medical services in Coffs Harbour will be lessened with the opening of a new GP clinic.
The Pacific Coffs Clinic, at 193 Rose Avenue, Coffs Harbour, offers universal bulk-billing to all Medicare cardholders and is aimed to tackle local GP wait times head-on and take pressure off the Coffs Base hospital system.
Husband-and-wife team, Dr May Zaw and her husband, Arthur Hein, began a ‘community-first’ model of care nine years ago in Wooli, delivering over 20,000 GP services to a population where 80 per cent of patients are seniors.
Mr Hein said this saved locals more than two million kilometres of travel and prevented more than 2000 unnecessary emergency room visits to Grafton Base Hospital.
They subsequently established Woopi Medical Centre in Woolgoolga, and have currently delivered more than 500,000 services.
That practice has become a training hub for doctors and medical students from the University of Wollongong committed to rural health.
The Coffs Harbour clinic offers prompt care for urgent conditions, helping keep local emergency departments clear for critical cases.
The multicultural team offers comprehensive services across aged care, chronic disease management, skin cancer care, Indigenous health initiatives, and refugee health services.
To cater for a growing population on the Coffs Coast, the clinical team will expand to nearly 20 GPs, supported by experienced nurses and administrative staff.
“This project was made possible through the hard work of the clinic team, builders Xcorp, pathology partners SNP, local council support, and the wider community,” Mr Hein said.
He said Pacific Coffs Clinic looks forward to collaborating closely with local healthcare partners to deliver accessible, high-quality care across the Coffs Coast.
By Andrew VIVIAN
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