Scepticism over health funding for rural and remote areas

Accessing healthcare can be difficult for people living away from urban centres or in isolated parts of the country.

That’s why the government has announced its investing $164 million over four years into urgent and after-hours healthcare services for rural and remote communities nationwide.

The funding will go towards extended after-hours, 24/7 on-call in-person clinical support, and improved access to diagnostics and medicines.

However, some Rodney doctors are sceptical about the funding making a difference.

Coast to Coast director Dr Tim Malloy says the announcement is spurious and misleading.

“The obvious question is how are they going to do that? With that sum of money, they couldn’t afford to run anything like the numbers that they’re talking about,” he says.

“With $40 million a year, assuming equal distribution, it isn’t going to begin to address the issues across probably 150 or 200 rural and remote sites in New Zealand who need urgent and after-hours care.”

Dr Malloy adds, “The other detail, of course, is where are you going to get this workforce from to boost the availability?

“Because, frankly, you’re not going to get it from the current workforce and there is no magic source that can create a whole new group of professionals.

“That is just the reality and even if there were it takes at least three to four years to take a person who’s already a trained practitioner through to being competent in urgent care, let alone general practice.”

Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey says the funding will mean 98 per cent of Kiwis will be able to access these services within one hour’s drive of their home.

“We won’t be eligible for any support in Rodney or even anywhere between our district and the city because we’re less than an hour away (from North Shore Hospital),” Dr Malloy says.

“There’s nothing in the announcement that suggests that we’re being offered any support for the services we provide.”

Changes will be implemented over the next two years, the government says.

This year new services will be trialled in Twizel, Takaka, Turangi, Te Kūiti, Coromandel, and Great Barrier Island before being rolled out nationwide.

 “People in rural New Zealand deserve access to timely, quality healthcare. This investment will reduce travel times, improve access to services, and help take pressure off our emergency departments,” Doocey says.

“This is about delivering practical improvements that make a real difference for people living in rural and remote areas. Geography shouldn’t be a barrier to getting the healthcare you need.”