Urgent care clinics are typically open 7 days a week, including weekends and public holidays, and open from 8am to at least 8pm. Some are open 24 hours per day.
They provide care on a no-appointment bases. Patients present with acute injuries or illnesses and are prioritised on arrival. Clinics are equipped and staffed to manage urgent medical problems and accidents, and offer x-ray, fracture clinics, a slit lamp for eye conditions, and complex wound management facilities. Typically, urgent care clinics are co-located with pharmacy, physiotherapy, and dental services. Some have specialist clinics.
All urgent care clinics are assessed against RNZCUC’s Urgent Care Standard (UCS), which sets and checks standards of equipment, staffing, systems, and policies. Most, if not all, urgent care clinics hold an ACC contract, having been fully accredited to the UCS. A small number of clinics have been assessed as meeting (or mostly meeting) the UCS but do not yet hold an ACC urgent care contract. These are typically facilities which are in the process of setting up systems, or minor facilities, to bid for the contract. When discussing ‘urgent care clinics’, these facilities are included in RNZCUC’s description.
Important
Registrars (or applicants to the training programme) seeking a facility to work from should look on the approved training facilities page of the website.