St John Ambulance service has been handed $28 million to set up four new “urgent care” clinics offering bulk-billed appointments, which critics say will compete directly with local GP clinics.

Funded by federal government, the clinics based in Perth will bill themselves as “high-quality, safe and timely alternate care pathways for unscheduled care”, with extended opening hours.

St John already runs three urgent care centres in the city, employing GPs, dentists and nurses to perform minor procedures and offer on-site X-ray and pathology collection.

But the RACGP has questioned the latest expansion, warning taxpayers’ money would be better spent in supporting urgent care in general practice.