Albury could become home to an urgent care clinic if Labor wins the election, but medical experts on the border say it could create more issues for the badly strained local health system.
New South Wales Senator Deborah O'Neill, along with Farrer and Indi candidates Darren Cameron and Nadia David, announced that 50 such facilities would be rolled out across the country if the Opposition prevailed in this weekend's poll.
But Border Medical Association deputy chair David Clancy said the measure would not solve the region's healthcare problems.
"We don't have the beds to put patients in once they've been admitted through the emergency department and we don't have the theatres to be able to put people through surgery."
Dr Clancy said those who worked in the profession and the community had been clear on a solution.
"While it's welcomed that Labor is looking to this region, we'd be asking them to actually come to the table and look at how they can help contribute to a new hospital," he said.
'Simple and effective'
The proposed clinic would bulk bill and be open seven days a week from at least 8am to 10pm.
Sprains, broken bones, cuts, wounds, insect bites, minor ear and eye problems and minor burns would all be treated at the clinic.
Ms O'Neill said GP access was "critical to the health and wellbeing" of Australians.
Mr Cameron said access to the clinic would free up hospital resources.
"The number of people presenting to [emergency departments] with routine, although [potentially] serious conditions is clogging up the system," he said.
"This is a simple and effective concept."
The finer details are yet to be established but the candidates said the clinic would use existing facilities at the hospital.
Dr Clancy said that would be difficult to achieve with the resources and space available at Albury Wodonga Health.
"We can't continue in these resources, we can't continue within this current infrastructure," he said.
'No way'
Both candidates supported the idea of a new hospital but Ms David said the issue needed to be looked at realistically.
"There's no way we're going to get a new hospital within the next five to 10 years," she said.
"We need a really good, first-class quality hospital here and that's going to take time.
"This is the way that we can give us some time and let people have the care that they deserve here."
Dr Clancy also raised concerns about how the clinic would be staffed.
He said more needed to be done to support GPs and encourage people to consider working in regional health facilities.
"The demand on our general practitioners is huge," Dr Clancy said.
"They're the front line of the actual health service, of actually trying to keep people out of hospitals and keep people at home."
