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When you need care because it is urgent or after hours
After hours and urgent care is accessible primary healthcare outside of general practice opening hours and hospital emergency departments. It ensures that communities can access appropriate care when treatment can’t wait, particularly in cases where treatment may not require a visit to an emergency department.
After hours and urgent care should not be a substitute for primary care that could otherwise occur ‘in hours’ i.e. at your usual general practice.
Emergencies
If you or someone you know is having a life-threatening medical issue or experiencing severe pain, call triple zero (000) or visit the emergency department of your nearest public hospital for urgent medical treatment.
Urgent non-emergencies
If you need help for an urgent medical issue (that is not life-threatening but cannot wait until the following day), there are after hours healthcare options that don’t involve a trip to a hospital emergency department. These options include telephone helplines, pharmacies, after hours doctors and medical clinics, or a doctor visiting you at home.
After hours and urgent care for community services
Available across Murray PHN region
If you need urgent, non-emergency, medical assistance after hours, call your local general practice clinic to see what options are available.
If your local practice isn’t open, you can call the healthdirect GP advice and support line on 1800 022 222, available to people who live in a country area from:
6pm – 7.30am Monday to Friday
midday on Saturday
all day Sunday and on public holidays.
At the end of your call, you will be offered a care advice summary, sent to you by SMS or email, so you can easily recall the details of the advice received. You can also agree to have a summary of your call sent to your regular general practice overnight, so your health team will be aware of the call the following day. The after hours GP helpline can also upload a summary of the call to your My Health Record.
Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) partner with nearby hospital emergency departments to provide free care for people with conditions that require urgent attention, but not an emergency response. This includes conditions like mild infections and burns, suspected fractures or broken bones. They also offer pathology and imaging services (or partner with services close by).
UCCs operate up to 16 hours a day, seven days a week and accept walk-ins, referrals and pre-booked appointments.
The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) allows you to access care for non-life-threatening emergencies. You can connect to the VVED from anywhere in Victoria, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There is no referral required, and you can connect directly from any personal device with a camera. People can also be connected to the service via Ambulance Victoria, their GP, other health professionals or their residential aged care home.
If you’re eligible, you will be connected virtually to emergency doctors and nurses who will provide medical advice, from the comfort of your own home or workplace. As your consultation will be via video, you will need a device with a camera to use this service. Click here to connect.
Murray PHN acknowledges its catchment crosses over many unceded First Nations Countries, following the Dhelkunya Yaluk (Healing River).
We pay our respects and give thanks to the Ancestors, Elders and Young people for their nurturing, protection and caregiving of these sacred lands and waterways, acknowledging their continuing cultural, spiritual and educational practices.
We are grateful for the sharing of Country and the renewal that Country gives us. We acknowledge and express our sorrow that this sharing has come at a personal, spiritual and cultural cost to the wellbeing of First Nations peoples. We commit to addressing the injustices of colonisation across our catchment, and to listening to the wisdom of First Nations communities who hold the knowledge to enable healing. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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