Picton’s GP Respiratory Clinic (GPRC) will close on Saturday, 31 December.
The Department of Health and Aged Care (DHAC) has extended the contracts of South Western Sydney’s remaining three GPRC’s – at Fairfield, Campbelltown and Mittagong – until Tuesday, 28 February 2023 when the current operational model will end.
13 December
The Australian Government has provided the following important update for general practice about GP Respiratory Clinics following yesterday’s launch of the National COVID-19 Health Management Plan for 2023.
Key points:
- Up to 76 GPRCs will continue to operate until 28 February 2023 but some will close
- From March 2023, a new GPRC Panel model will be implemented for activation during health emergencies
- Clinics interested in participating in the GPRC Panel model should register directly on AusTender to receive notifications
In a continuing scale down of the GP Respiratory Clinic (GPRC) program, the government has approved an operational extension for up to 76 clinics until 28 February 2023. However, this also means some clinics will close at the end of December.
This will be the final operational extension of GP Respiratory Clinics under the current operational model, with the program ending on 28 February 2023.
From March 2023, a new GPRC Panel model will be implemented for activation during health emergencies.
Existing accredited general practices will be selected for the GPRC Panel through an approach to market which will be released on AusTender in January and may include existing GPRCs if they are able to meet the relevant criteria.
The DHAC will provide more advice to potential GPRC Panel participants shortly but for now, any interested clinic should register directly on AusTender to receive notifications.
Current GPRCs which will be extended, will be offered Deeds of Variation in the coming days and will need to decide if they wish to continue given changes to the contract, which include:
- Cessation of funding for functions including in-reach on 31 December 2022
- Cessation of access to PPE and RATs from the Commonwealth
GPRCs not being offered extensions will also be notified shortly. A final list of operational GPRCs will be provided once variations are executed.
Access the GPRC clinic finder