Medical centre to ease pressure

Specialist medical appointments are set to become more accessible with the construction of the new Great Southern Specialist Centre on Cockburn Road.

The centre is expected to open in the middle of next year and will service Albany and the Great Southern by providing services, including neurologists and orthopaedic and plastic surgeons.

Local surgeon Tom Bowles said the centre would improve access to specialists by increasing the capacity available in the public health system.

Dr Bowles said this would reduce the need for patients to travel to Perth.

“This will help attract more specialists to live in or visit Albany, and improve access to these services for local people,” he said.

“There’s only so much the public health system can afford to provide, and we’re sure that this facility will be a great boost for the local community.

“For too long, patients in the region haven’t always been able to make best use of their private health insurance, even if they wanted to.

“By doing private (patients) through this system, it will actually improve access for the public patients at the hospital.”

The six-room centre will be equipped with a telehealth capacity, enabling patients from around the region to see a specialist without having to travel to Albany.

Realforce development manager John Boccamazzo said there were plans to extend on the specialist centre to create a health and medical precinct.