Latest news with #TobyBeaglehole
Scoop
25-07-2025
- Health
- Scoop
General Practice Training Programme To Be Fully Funded Is A Win For The Future Of The General Practice Workforce
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners welcomes the Minister of Health's announcement today at GP25: Conference for General Practice of significant additional funding for registrars across the General Practice Education Programme (GPEP). This announcement will go a long way to strengthen the training and grow the next generation of the specialist GP workforce, and includes: In 2025, training fees for doctors in their second, third, and post-third year of GPEP to encourage completion of their training. Fellowship assessment costs for around 200 GPEP trainees to enable them to complete their training and become Fellows. From 2026, full ongoing training and education costs for an estimated 400 GPEP year 2 and 3 trainees each year. Currently, GP registrars only have their first year of GPEP funded with the second and third years having to be self-funded. This funding approach is different to all the other medical training programmes (in New Zealand and Australasian medical colleges) that are fully funded for their entirety. College President Dr Samantha Murton says, "This funding will be a gamechanger for current and future trainees. This is a significant acknowledgement for the specialism of the general practice workforce and the vital role we play in healthcare being as important as those of our peers in secondary hospital settings. "Not only will this funding offer the necessary financial support our GP registrars need throughout their training, but we are optimistic that the news will encourage medical graduates who have an interest in general practice but have been put off by the financial barriers to make the step to train as a specialist GP. To them, I say welcome and you won't regret your decision. The College has been a strong and vocal advocate for the current and future general practice workforce and is enthusiastic that the funding for primary care is heading in the right direction to ensure that it is sustainable. College Chief Executive Toby Beaglehole says, "We are focused on building a sustainable workforce for the future, which starts with training and the equitability of our program costs to other specialist medical training. "This funding sends a signal to the sector that the expertise of general practice is valued as a vital part of the health system. We are very grateful to the Minister for his recognition of the importance of primary care training to deliver healthier patients. "This funding will also help reduce costs to the rural GP workforce who support communities that need more specialist GPs as soon as possible." The Government has also announced that capitation funding reweighting will be introduced from 1 July 2026. The College acknowledges that reweighting capitation funding will focus on the distribution of funding across general practice, so that practices with a higher needs population of enrolled patients will receive more funding to care for them. Dr Murton says "We also welcome the changes to the capitation funding formula to include multimorbidity, rurality, and deprivation as factors. It is key, as the Minister has mentioned in his speech today, that these factors are regularly reviewed to meet the ongoing patient needs of the primary health care system." The Ministry of Health with Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora will review capitation reweighting every five years, with the first review in 2028 so that it remains fit for purpose. College Chief Executive, Toby Beaglehole says "I'd like to acknowledge Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and the Minister for their support of our advocacy and their willingness to work with the College to better fund the future of our primary care workforce in New Zealand. Today is a massive win for putting patients first, and as the Minister said a first step in delivering a sustainable primary care workforce for general practice and rural hospital medicine."
Scoop
25-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Budget 2025 Misses Opportunity To Give Primary Care A Leading Role In Addressing And Improving Healthcare In Aotearoa
The 2025 Budget has missed an important opportunity to recognise the value that the general practice and primary care workforce can have on improving the health outcomes of New Zealanders. The bulk of healthcare happens in the community by specialist GPs and primary care teams, not in the hospitals. Our workforce provides sustainable and patient-focused care that is cost effective and saves the sector money in the long-term. The lack of any immediate funding for general practice and primary care in the Budget announcement to implement solutions that will alleviate pressures both on our workforce and in hospitals and EDs will be felt by all New Zealanders who access our services. College Medical Director Dr Luke Bradford says, "The decision to extend prescription lengths from three- to 12-months is not something that the College sees as beneficial to improving health outcomes and health equity. "During the consultation process, the College supported a six-month prescription length for medically stable patients, and we reiterate that this is dependent on clinical suitability and discretion as well as consideration of the work that needs to be done by general practice teams to ensure that a patient remains monitored and safe on their prescribed medications. "The enhanced capitation funding commitment announced recently is still light on details and we await further information on both what will be required to get this funding and if this will result in an annual uplift in current capitation funding. We have, for many years, been significantly underfunded for the work that we do and look forward to receiving details on this Budget promise." College Chief Executive Toby Beaglehole says, "The College has welcomed recent announcements to improve access to GPs, rural hospital and primary care services as well as growing and retaining the workforce. What is missing is the funding to make this a reality such as a fully funded GP training programme, pay parity for primary care nurses and supporting current GPs who train the next generation. "Seeing the bulk of health funding again being put into secondary or hospital-based care, instead of reprioritised into primary care is frustrating, given the sheer volume of care that general practice and primary care teams provide to New Zealand's communities." Read the pre-Budget opinion editorial published in the NZ Herald from College President Dr Samantha Murton and Medical Director Dr Luke Bradford highlighting why investing in general practice and primary care is essential if we want to have healthy and thriving communities:
Scoop
29-04-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Hauora Taiwhenua Wins 21st WONCA World Rural Health Conference
Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network will host the 21st WONCA (World Organisation of Family Doctors) World Rural Health Conference in 2026. The successful conference bid was led by Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network with support from its Te Tiriti partners Te Rōpū Ārahi. Effective advocacy from Business Events Wellington and Tourism New Zealand Business Events, and endorsement from the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, General Practice New Zealand, the College of Nurses Aotearoa, the Mayor of Wellington and government ministries, led to a winning proposal. Toby Beaglehole, Chief Executive of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners said 'That as full members of WONCA, we were very happy to endorse Hauora Taiwhenua's bid to host the Rural WONCA 2026 Conference and believe that their dedication, expertise, and vision make them the ideal candidate for hosting this prestigious event here in Wellington.' Hauora Taiwhenua's bid was chosen over strong international competition, thanks to its focus on indigenous health frameworks, community-led health initiatives, and New Zealand's demonstrated commitment to rural health equity. Fiona Bolden, Chairperson of Hauora Taiwhenua, says: 'Hosting Rural WONCA 2026 in Wellington provides an unparalleled platform to highlight the innovative and community-driven strategies we've developed to support rural and Indigenous health. We will be working closely with our rural Māori members and health colleagues to share our success stories and extend this opportunity to our rural health peers across the South Pacific and other first nations peoples around the world, to join these conversations and learning opportunities; it's about fostering global conversations that drive equity and inclusivity in healthcare systems worldwide.' The relevance of this conference to New Zealand has never been greater, Bolden says, with increasing recognition of health disparities and the urgent need for culturally responsive care. The country's commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and the UN Sustainability Development Goals will provide robust conversations on shared learnings. Wellington, New Zealand's vibrant capital, was selected for its dynamic blend of cultural diversity, strong health sector partnerships, and its status as the political and healthcare hub of the country. Professor Alan Bruce Chater, Chair, Rural Wonca (Wonca Working Party on Rural Practice) tells us that 'Hosting the Rural Health Conference in New Zealand is a significant opportunity to enhance communication and networking among rural health professionals globally and importantly in New Zealand. With New Zealand coming into an election year and with Te Pae Rural Health Strategy in review the conference will be a valuable time to reset, foster collaborative thinking and share learnings'. This is the first time the global rural health conference for family doctors has been hosted by New Zealand, and we are very proud to be able to provide this unbeatable opportunity to our rural health community. The Conference runs from 10-13 April 2026, at Tākina, Wellington, New Zealand.
