The first fully serviced children’s urgent care centre will open in WA, aiming to take some of the pressure off the health system and emergency departments where wait times have ballooned.
The first fully serviced children’s urgent care centre will open in WA, aiming to take some of the pressure off the health system and emergency departments where wait times have ballooned.
By Holly Thompson
March 30, 2025 — 1.08pm
Perth’s first urgent care clinic specifically for children and families will open next month, aiming to take some of the pressure off the public health system and emergency department at Perth Children’s Hospital.
Kinkaya Kids and Family Urgent Care managing director and co-owner Justin Withnall, who will also work as a doctor at the practice, said he had been looking into the idea when the story of how seven-year-old Aishwarya Aswath died as her parents begged staff at PCH to help her was publicised.
Aishwarya died in the Perth Children’s Hospital emergency room in 2021 from multi-organ failure after a Group A Streptococcal infection progressed into sepsis.
A scathing coroner’s report into the incident concluded that while she died of natural causes, she may still be alive had she received medical treatment sooner.
Withnall said her case had pushed him to “work harder” on opening the clinic, as the pressures on the health system became starkly clear.
“Perth Children’s Hospital has the highest presentation rate of any children’s hospital in Australia,” he said.
“The wait times are incredibly long and there is no way to predict it or provide parents with any certainty given a severe case could come through the doors and take up all the resources for a while.”
He said the wait was anxiety-inducing for parents who had no idea what was wrong with their child and wanted answers, and that after hearing about Aishwarya’s case the wait might feel worse.
The Health Department has implemented changes since the incident, including providing a phone line for concerned parents to access a second opinion called Aishwarya’s CARE Call.
As a parent, Withnall was also inspired to create the new urgent care centre after several presentations to the emergency department with his own kids.
“We fill that in between space for situations that are not life-threatening, but cannot wait until you can book in with a GP,” he said.
“Doctors and nurses in emergency are all wonderful, but they don’t have time to fill that gap themselves.”
Co-owner of the clinic Haley Peyton said the emergency room could be a scary place for young children too.
“We want to remove the anxiety and the stress of deciding when to rush your kids to hospital,” she said.
“There are some amazing people working in the children’s hospital and we want to support them.”
Kinkaya Kids and Family Urgent Care, based in Innaloo, will be open every day from April 3, between 8am and 10pm, with x-ray and pathology services on site.
Within the next six months, Withnall said they would have capacity to perform minor procedures under general anesthetic.
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Holly Thompson is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education.Connect via Twitter or email.
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