Winchelsea granted $300,000 toward medical clinic services upgrade

THE Winchelsea Medical Clinic been boosted by a $300,000 Commonwealth grant.

The funding will go to a $2 million new clinic in the town, featuring seven consulting rooms, space for medical registrar training, and allied and mental health services.

Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson visited Winchelsea yesterday to announce its inclusion in the federal Rural General Practice Grants program. She said she was “delighted” to announce the services upgrade for the town of about 2000 residents.

“Winchelsea Medical Clinic has been in dire need of an expansion of services and new, larger premises,” she said.

“The existing clinic has three consulting rooms shared among four general practitioners and allied health staff and is not large enough to meet current needs.

Better facilities will allow more doctors, nurses and other health workers to get hands-on training in general practices in rural areas like Winchelsea.”

The new clinic will be adjacent to the Hesse Rural Health centre and future site of a purpose-built childcare facility.

Room will also be provided for a multipurpose educational facility to cater for teleconferencing and video viewing for community education and meetings, allied health, staff education and meetings.

The Winchelsea practice is one of 67 offered grants under the $13.1 million Commonwealth program.

Federal Assistant Minister for Health David Gillespie said supporting medical services in regional Australia was a key Coalition priority. “Improving access to doctors and other health professionals in rural and regional Australia is a priority for our long term national health plan,” Dr Gillespie said.