Latest news with #urgentcare
BBC News
4 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Reading town centre's urgent care centre to move to hospital
An urgent care centre set up to ease the pressure on Reading's A&E is to close two-and-a-half years after opening. The facility in Broad Street Mall allows people with urgent but not life threatening conditions to get treatment by walking in off the street, although patients can also pre-book hope was it would lead to a sharp drop in the number of people turning up at the Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) - but figures show the centre has not had the desired is not the end of the project though as a new urgent care centre will open in the hospital itself. People will need to call NHS 111 before they can be referred. Figures collected in the first year of the service running showed that even when more people turned up at the centre looking for help they were matched by similar rises at the hospital itself.A report by the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board, which oversees the current urgent care centre, said it saw no significant improvement in the number of patients seen by doctors at the RBH's A&E after the centre was opened. As for the new urgent care centre, the care board said: "By being closer to the RBH's Accident and Emergency department, the urgent care centre will be able to treat those patients who need to be seen on the same day but who don't need the specialist support of the A&E team."The service will ensure patients are treated by the most appropriate healthcare professional, resulting in shorter waiting times and enabling A&E staff to treat patients who most need emergency and specialist care."The new centre will start operating on 1 July.
SBS Australia
4 days ago
- Health
- SBS Australia
'The system is broken': Report recommends outing specialists with excessive fees
Nearly 1.9 million Australians are delaying or skipping critical care due to high specialist fees. Some specialists charge two to three times the Medicare rate, with annual costs topping $670 for some services. Grattan Institute urges reforms, including naming overcharging doctors and expanding access in underserved areas. The report recommended naming specialists who charge excessive fees and scrapping medicare subsidies for them. Some private specialist doctors charge patients two to three times more than the rate Medicare sets for those services, the report found. It said patients of one specialist forked out an average of $300 per year in 2023 - up 73 per cent since 2010. Average out-of-pocket costs for extreme-fee-charging specialists in 2023 reached $671 for psychiatry services and more than $350 for endocrinology, cardiology, paediatrics, immunology and neurology services. The high costs leave critical health care out of reach for millions, causing patients in poorer pockets of Australia to wait months or years for urgent appointments, and leading to missed diagnoses, avoidable pain and added pressure on hospitals. About four in 10 Australians visited a specialist in 2023/24. About two-thirds across all specialities are private appointments, with patients receiving a Medicare rebate and paying a gap fee. Grattan's Health Program director Peter Breadon said the system was broken from start to end. "Everywhere, from how the system is planned and how training is funded through to how we target public investment and integrate the system between primary care and specialist care, it all really needs a lot of change," he told AAP. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said private health insurers and specialists needed to do more to protect patients from exorbitant bills. He said the Albanese government would upgrade the Medical Costs Finder, which helps patients find the best value for specialist medical advice, and was committed to working with stakeholders to improve cost transparency. "Hopefully it would discourage those specialists who are charging really unreasonable fees, but this is a problem that needs many solutions," Breadon said. The report also recommends governments provide one million extra specialist appointment services every year in areas that receive the least care, a system in which GPs can get written advice from other specialists, modernise public specialist clinics, and allocate $160 million to expand specialist training for under-supplied specialities and rural training. Australian Medical Association President Dr Danielle McMullen said public hospital underinvestment and lagging Medicare rebates made it harder for patients. "The risks of delaying medical care are that the health problem gets worse," she said, adding it also puts pressure on GPs and hospitals in public and private clinics. The doctors' association supports most of Grattan's recommendations, but said removing Medicare funding from specialists who charged excessive fees was not practical. As governments negotiate the National Health Reform agreement, McMullen urged leaders to sort out longer-term funding for public hospitals and develop a health workforce data tracker to show where investment was needed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dave Ramsey Tells The Caller, 'Bump Him On The Head, Girl,' Warns Against Letting A 22-Year-Old Son Move In Without Paying What He Owes
A mother recently called into 'The Ramsey Show' to get advice about her 22-year-old son, and Dave Ramsey did not hold back. Her son, who is graduating debt-free from college this month thanks to the 'sacrifice' of his parents, racked up a $700 urgent care bill after ignoring his parents' advice to use the on-campus clinic. The parents paid $500 of the bill and asked him to pay the remaining $200 to teach him some financial responsibility. But the son flat-out refused. Don't Miss: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Inspired by Uber and Airbnb – Deloitte's fastest-growing software company is transforming 7 billion smartphones into income-generating assets – The caller explained that her son planned to move back home for the summer while completing an internship. "No way. There's consequences to being a butt," Ramsey said. "He doesn't get to live there rent-free if he doesn't pay a bill because it's your responsibility when it's not." The mom said her son believes the parents should cover the entire bill since he's still on their health plan. But Ramsey and his co-host Ken Coleman weren't having it. "You're not going to move in here until you pay that bill," Ramsey continued. "I'll let you live here rent-free to get a good start, not for being an entitled brat." Coleman got especially fired up when the mom mentioned that she was planning to play the clip of the call to her son. Talking directly to him, he said, "Dude, you need a reality check. You ought to be apologizing to your parents and groveling all over yourself in gratitude for all they've done for you," he said. "You went to a place that I told you not to. You've got a $700 problem. It's not Mom and I's problem." Trending: Invest where it hurts — and help millions heal:. 'If you're big enough to get yourself in this mess, you're big enough to get yourself [out],' Ramsey added. Ramsey then pivoted to a broader message: Gratitude and humility must be taught early. "Everything when you're parenting is a muscle that must be built," he said. "Gratitude leads to and helps you as it grows inside a child. A grateful child becomes a humble child." He explained that these traits, once deeply rooted, shape adults who understand the value of personal responsibility, appreciate the support they've been given, and recognize that respect and opportunity must be earned, not expected or demanded. Such individuals are more likely to approach challenges with humility, make thoughtful financial choices, and avoid placing undue expectations on others. Read Next: Maximize saving for your retirement and cut down on taxes: . The average American couple has saved this much money for retirement —?UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Dave Ramsey Tells The Caller, 'Bump Him On The Head, Girl,' Warns Against Letting A 22-Year-Old Son Move In Without Paying What He Owes originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBC
6 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Regina Urgent Care Centre to close early Saturday
Social Sharing Regina's only urgent care centre will close its doors five and a half hours early Saturday, at 4 p.m. CST. The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) announced the change in hours on Friday, saying the centre's regular 9:30 p.m. close time will resume on Sunday. The province did not provide a reason for the reduced hours in its initial announcement. It asked people to go to Regina General Hospital or Pasqua Hospital if they experience a medical emergency during the centre's early closure. The care centre acts as an alternative to hospital emergency rooms, treating non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries, and providing mental health support. When it opened in July 2024, it was Saskatchewan's first urgent care centre. The government said the centre would transition to a 24/7 model by fall, but that promise has yet to be fulfilled. In response to this weekend's reduced hours, the Opposition NDP called for the Saskatchewan Party to better fund health care and properly staff the Regina Care Centre. "The Sask. Party says it's building more urgent care centres, but it can't even staff the centre that is already open," an NDP statement said. The centre previously temporarily reduced its hours in December 2024.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Regina Urgent Care Centre to have shortened hours
Regina Watch WATCH: The Regina Urgent Care Centre will have shortened hours on Saturday, June 14, with normal hours returning on Sunday.
