Cockburn Urgent Care

St John WA’s Urgent Care centres are not Emergency Departments. Instead, they offer care from 8am to 9pm, 7 days a week, for injuries and illnesses that need immediate treatment but aren’t life-threatening. Urgent Care can provide treatment for possible sprains and broken bones, cuts that need stitches or glue, sports injuries, and animal bites.

Call Triple Zero (000) or attend the emergency department for:

• Heart attack or chest pains
• Inability to breathe
• Collapse or seizure or stroke
• Heavy bleeding
• Serious head or neck injury
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Severe stomach pain
• Bleeding in pregnancy
• Serious mental health problems
• Poisoning or serious allergic reactions

No appointment is required for St John Urgent Care practices. We are a walk-in service only.

Urgent Care is open 8am – 9pm, 7 days a week, 365 days a year (hours may vary). Visit our website for a full list of operating hours.

Emergency Departments are stressful, busy environments designed for the sickest patients who need lifesaving care or hospital admission.

St John Urgent Care exists to treat patients with minor injuries, wounds, and illnesses and help patients avoid a visit to the Emergency Department. St John Urgent Care has x-ray, plaster casting, crutches, splints, and wound care equipment on-site and is open for extended hours.

If required, our doctors can prescribe medication.

St John Urgent Care is a walk-in service with no appointments, so wait times will vary depending on patient demand.

St John Urgent Care practices are staffed by highly trained doctors, nurse practitioners, and nurses. We take great pride in our staff, employing only highly trained doctors with the latest knowledge and experience.

St John Urgent Care is not bulk billed due to insufficient increases to Medicare, as the Medicare rebate is unable to cover the costs of running our practices. This means that out-of-pocket fees will apply to all Urgent Care consultations to continue delivering this service. Costs may also be associated with products used, such as moon boots or wrist braces.

Bulk billing is when a doctor accepts the Medicare rebate paid by the government as full payment for the service they have delivered.

When the government first introduced Medicare in 1985 the rebate was 85% of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) recommended fee. However successive governments have failed to increase the Medicare rebate in line with inflation, and now the rebate amount is less than half of what the AMA recommended appointment fee is (which has increased yearly in line with inflation). So, when patients are bulk billed, the medical centre receives only $41.20, instead of our standard fee of $80.00 - $90.00 (in line with the recommended AMA schedule).

The graph below reflects the rising ‘cost of healthcare’ compared to ‘Medicare rebate’ since 1985.

The fees generated from patient appointments cover the expenses of running a medical centre, including wages of reception, administration and cleaning staff, building lease, electricity, phones, computer and software fees, insurance etc, all of which have been increasing with inflation. As the gap between rebate increases and cost increase widens, it has become more difficult to maintain a viable business by bulk billing all patients.

Our aim at St John Urgent Care is to provide high-quality, individualised patient-centred care that puts our patients first, making them feel supported and respected.

If you have any questions about our fees, please do not hesitate to contact any of our friendly reception staff. We thank you for your continued support.

Yes, patients registered with Medicare can receive a rebate. However, an out-of-pocket fee will apply.

Yes, babies and young children can be treated at St John Urgent Care for any urgent but not life-threatening illnesses and injuries.