Thousands of Melbourne’s most vulnerable patients will retain access to their free medical check-ups for at least another eight months after the federal government and cash-strapped community health provider cohealth signed off on an emergency bailout package.

The $1.5 million pledge from the Albanese government will pause proposed cuts , first reported by The Age , to general practitioner services for low-income residents in Collingwood, Fitzroy and Kensington until July 31, 2026.

Doctors, nurses, social workers and activists had threatened to occupy the Collingwood site and run a renegade health service if the planned service cuts were not reversed.

Cohealth has agreed to pause its proposed cuts until at least July. Credit: Simon Schluter

Cohealth told Health Minister Mark

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