PM confident of delivering on urgent care clinics

The federal government is confident it will meet and beat its target to roll out urgent care clinics to take the pressure off hospitals.

Before last year's election, Labor committed to 50 walk-in clinics across the country.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told an Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation meeting in Sydney there would be 58 centres.

"When we complete our rollout, we will have exceeded our target and there'll be 58 centres across the country giving Australians urgent care, taking pressure off emergency departments all over the country - and the nurses who are their backbone," he said on Thursday.

ABC News reported last week the program had delivered only 23 clinics so far, with the locations and providers for a further 10 announced.

Mr Albanese is heading to Perth on Thursday to announce the latest clinic.

He told the conference that few professions shaped the lives of Australians as profoundly as nursing and midwifery.

"Your members are there at the beginning of our lives and at the end and you are one of the essential ingredients that makes it possible to live all the years in between to the very fullest."

Closing the gender pay gap and improving the pay and conditions of aged care nurses were key priorities.

"As a society, we cannot continue to accept the situation where certain occupations are paid below their true worth just because a majority of the workforce are women," Mr Albanese said.

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