After-hours medical care in Newcastle

Choosing the right level of care

Call 000 and ask for an ambulance for severe chest pain, chest pain lasting 10 minutes or getting worse, serious difficulty breathing, and signs of a stroke, even if they pass.

Urgent care is for problems that are not life-threatening but need attention within about 2 to 12 hours. Things that can wait for a regular appointment should go to your GP when the practice reopens.

What is available around Newcastle

Hunter New England and Central Coast PHN is the Primary Health Network for the area. Its after-hours page describes a GP after-hours program for Newcastle, Maitland and Lake Macquarie that works through telephone triage, so check that page for how to access it and who is eligible.

The same page says care advice is available around the clock by phone through healthdirect. Nurses on 1800 022 222 can help you decide what to do and may offer a call back or video call with a GP. The call is free, although mobile callers may be charged.

• NSW Urgent Care Services provide short-term care, in person or by phone or video.
• Medicare Urgent Care Clinics take walk-ins. The PHN says seven operate across its catchment, and the Department of Health's map shows where.
• The healthdirect Service Finder lists GPs and pharmacies that are open now.
• Hospital emergency departments treat serious illness and injury.

Costs and home visits

Healthdirect says that phoning a helpline is usually free, while most after-hours health professionals charge a fee, and Medicare may cover part of it. Some services offer home visits or telehealth, but we do not list them here because arrangements change. If you are thinking about harming yourself, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 13YARN on 13 92 76.