19-05-2025
After-hours boost details awaited
The devil will be in the details for regional health centres around the South following the announcement of an increase in government funding for after-hours services.
The government on Sunday announced more than $164 million over four years would be spent to expand urgent and after-hours healthcare services across the country.
Health Minister Simeon Brown said the initiative would mean 98% of New Zealanders would be able to receive in-person urgent care within one hour's drive of their homes.
It would result in a new urgent and after-hours service in Dunedin and other services would be offered in other parts of the South.
A document outlining changes said the Invercargill after-hours service would next year expand to also provide daytime services.
Improved services would also be rolled out across rural and remote communities in places such as Balclutha and Stewart Island.
Clutha Health First chief executive Gary Reed said the Balclutha facility welcomed the announcement, although details remained scant at this early stage.
"Any new monies are warmly received in these financially constrained times. We are waiting for further information from the ministry with respect to how and when the monies will be allocated, as well as what the ministry's expectations are with regards to it," Mr Reed said.
The Invercargill after-hours clinic closed in March last year as it struggled to get doctors but reopened within a few days.
WellSouth Primary Health Network chief executive Andrew Swanson-Dobbs said he was looking forward to receiving more details about the after-hours healthcare package and what it would mean for Invercargill.
"This news paves a way for a more sustainable service in Dunedin as well as the Invercargill after-hours service," he said.
"We all know the pressure on health practitioners and other staff to support after hours, with clinicians often working day jobs as well as after hours to sustain the service.
"It's a good result and now we need to get on and plan the work."
Up to 30 rural and remote South Island services will be improved, alongside a further seven provincial and urban services in 2027.
This includes places such as Haast and Gore.
Gore Health chief executive Karl Meltzer said he was glad to hear of the increase in funding but, like everything in health, "the devil is in the details."
He said potentially it was exciting, and it could help alleviate urgent-care issues.
"But we do not know what it is going to be. I have been making a few calls to Wellington but have not had any calls back," he said.
Gore Health had a round-the-clock emergency department which allowed Gore GPs to be able to go to bed by 9pm, he said.
That sort of coverage was great for a population of 20,000. He said the interesting thing would be whether the money was tagged to the Gore Health emergency department.
HealthCentral Alexandra general manager Jenaya Smith said HealthCentral began lobbying for adequate and equitable after-hours and urgent-care funding prior to opening its urgent-care centre in July last year.
"We are currently providing an extremely well-utilised walk-in service for both residents of Central Otago and visitors to the area and are open from 8am to 6pm, seven days a week," he said.
She was hopeful any funding boost would benefit patients accessing urgent-care/after-hours service but had not yet seen any information.
Central Otago Health Services Ltd was contracted to provide urgent GP services between 6pm-8am for HealthCentral-enrolled patients. Comparatively small numbers of its patients accessed this service, she said.
Central Otago Health Services Ltd could not be contacted.
Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher welcomed the news Oamaru would have its after-hours services improved.
"The after-hours emergency department has always been a critical service provided by Oamaru Hospital, so it is great to see that Health NZ is making further improvements to support our wider Waitaki community. A significant proportion of our population will benefit and, in a time when government funding is under huge pressure, it's awesome to hear that this service will be improved."
— APL
