Service to ‘strengthen urgent care'

Otago Daily Times

18-05-2025

Health Minister Simeon Brown. Photo: RNZ/Angus Dreaver
Dunedin will be one of the first beneficiaries of a new urgent and after-hours care service, the government says.
Health Minister Simeon Brown said yesterday the service would start in Dunedin in "late 2025".
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) did not provide further details yesterday, but Mr Brown said yesterday that it was a new Budget initiative, and part of a $164 million nationwide roll-out over four years to expand urgent and after-hours healthcare services across the country.
New centres would also be opened in Counties Manukau, Whangārei, Palmerston North and Tauranga.
"These improvements are part of a comprehensive, community-based approach to strengthen urgent care, ease pressure on hospital emergency departments, and deliver better health outcomes for all New Zealanders.
"In Dunedin, a new 24/7 service has been identified to ensure the community has round-the-clock access to care every day of the week, easing pressure on the city's hospital.
"This means people in Dunedin will be able to get urgent care any time of the day and night, while our government continues to prioritise delivering the new Dunedin hospital," Mr Brown said.
Urgent after-hours care services have come under increasing pressure in the city due to lack of resources — recently Dunedin Urgent Doctors & Accident Centre (Dudac) reduced its operating hours from 8am-10pm to 8am-9pm.
Dudac general manager Adam O'Byrne said this was a fantastic announcement.
"Dunedin and the wider Otago community have waited so long for something like this to occur.
"We know the community deserve this and we are very grateful that we have been trusted with this opportunity to make a lasting change to urgent and after-hours care here in Dunedin."
The funding boost meant Dudac could now "sustain and improve its current services while we continue to collaborate with HNZ, Primary Health Network WellSouth and other local health sector stakeholders as to how we expand access to urgent and after-hours care for all within our community", he said.
"This is a very important piece of work in which we will start immediately so we can deliver on the Health Minister Simeon Brown's promise."
WellSouth chief executive Andrew Swanson-Dobbs was also excited by the announcement.
The funding would give WellSouth the opportunity to work with Dudac and HNZ to develop the service, and "hopefully staff, to be paid appropriately", with the ambition to have something formalised before the end of the year, he said.
"It's great news for the Dunedin population — now we need to get on and plan the work."
Mr Swanson-Dobbs said Dudac had done an "amazing" job over several years, with doctors working not only their day jobs, but also after hours, to sustain the service.
Former head of the Dunedin emergency department Dr John Chambers said on paper, this sounded like a positive and sensible initiative from the government.
"But it will all come down to workforce.
"What's happened over the years is less and less GPs want to do this sort of work.
"So, eventually they pull out of it until the roster becomes unworkable.
"And it's also a question of money. Is it going to go to urgent care specialists? Will it all be gobbled up in the administration? And will the patients have to pay?
"The thing with these announcements is that there's always a catch somewhere which I'm sure we'll find out about soon."
About 5000 New Zealanders visit urgent care clinics every day, but the availability of after-hours services has declined in recent years, and access remains variable, Mr Brown said.
"We're taking action to ensure New Zealanders can access the care they need, when and where they need it. Our investment will also support more timely care, reducing pressure on emergency departments, and improving outcomes for patients."
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