Central Coast News

Originally funded by the Federal Government in May for a three-months period, Central Coast Primary Care leased rooms from the EV Church to establish the Clinic. With COVID-19 restrictions easing and the Federal Government extending funding for the clinic into 2021, Central Coast Primary Care have completed clinic renovations for a new Clinic, still situated within the grounds of the EV Church.

As one of the largest COVID-19 testing clinics in Australia, the Clinic will continue to provide touch-free testing for over 300 people each day within our local community. The Clinic provides assessment and COVID testing of people with mild to moderate respiratory symptoms such as cough, sore throat, or fever and is free to attend for Australian residents with a Medicare card.

The Chair of Central Coast Primary Care’s Board, Peter Coomber, says “The clinic upgrade could not have happened without a combination of federal government and state government support. We also recognise the local businesses and tradespeople who achieving quick turnaround in getting the new purpose built COVID-19 Testing Clinic up and running in 4 weeks. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the Central Coast community for their diligence in undertaking testing and ensuring that the community stays safe.”

Lucy Wicks MP Federal Member for Robertson said that the GP led Respiratory Clinics (GPRC) play a crucial role in the Australian Government’s response to COVID-19, providing free testing for patients with respiratory illness. “GPRC’s protect other general practices from potential COVID-19 cases while ensuring ongoing patient care is maintained,” Ms Wicks said. “We have great COVID-19 testing rates here on the Central Coast. Since 1 May 2020, the Erina GPRC has assessed more than 36,000 patients which shows how important this purpose-built facility will be for our community.”

Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast and Member for Terrigal Adam Crouch said the work was fast-tracked, with four months of approvals and construction undertaken in just four weeks. “Thanks to support and funding from the NSW and Australian Governments, Central Coast residents have access to the first purpose-built COVID-19 testing clinic in the country,” Mr Crouch said. “The recent renovations also provided work for 30 local painters, earthworkers, carpenters and suppliers of plumbing, flooring and air conditioning.”

The new Clinic was officially opened by local Federal Member Lucy Wicks and State Member Adam Crouch at 10am on Friday 18 December, and will provide testing from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 2pm on Saturdays. Despite a decrease in COVID-19 cases across the state, testing is still recommended for people showing symptoms to help protect against an outbreak.