Closing GP after hours clinics only widen health inequities faced by rural New Zealanders

Timely and accessible healthcare should be attainable for all New Zealanders, irrespective of where they live.

Yesterday’s story revealing plans to close all after-hours GP services on the West Coast is extremely concerning for both patients and the health professionals who will take on the additional patient care, says The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners’ Division of Rural Hospital Medicine.

Chair of the Division of Rural Hospital Medicine Dr Andrew Laurenson, who also works on the West Coast says, "There are close to 900,000 New Zealanders who live rurally and the inequities that these people are facing when it comes to accessing healthcare is sobering.

"Underfunding to the point of insolvency services such as GP after hours clinics, especially in an area so geographically dispersed as the West Coast, will do nothing to help us to achieve a thriving and sustainable rural health workforce.

"The expectation for private rural businesses to fund the shortfalls in emergency care from their own pocket is also not a sustainable solution.

"Engaging with those who work in rural healthcare to implement appropriate solutions that we know will work for our patients and our rural communities is crucial if we are to turn these inequities around."

The workforce shortages and the additional hours our primary care teams are working to try and plug the gaps, and reduce the burden on Emergency Departments and hospitals, are well documented, but they are not a long-term solution.

College President Dr Samantha Murton says, "Offering alternative solutions such as rural telehealth service Ka Ora will be beneficial but needs to be alongside improved support for face-to-face primary care services. Telehealth cannot be the only option, especially in areas like the West Coast where internet and cellphone coverage can be very limited."

"Primary care delivers 23 million contacts with patients every year and is the most cost-effective part of the health service. Chronic underfunding puts this essential service in jeopardy, and we cannot continue to rely on the good will of the primary care workforce to keep up this pace. The health, and potentially the lives, of New Zealanders are being put at risk due to a lack of access to primary healthcare services.

"Investment in the workforce that has been doing the work for their communities for years, alongside other supports like telehealth, needs to be addressed and urgently acted upon by the Government."