Counties Manukau Health to offer free consultations at 16 clinics to relieve pressure on acute services

For the past 10 days Counties Manukau Health, along with other DHBs in the region, has been dealing with significant pressure on acute services.

Dr Vanessa Thornton, Clinical Director of Middlemore Hospital’s Emergency Department (ED), says that overnight the ED had 187 patients, compared to between 95 and 120 on a normal night and warns that the situation is not expected to improve over the next two weeks.

“With Easter at the end of the week, we will see some discharges from the hospital but next week, when people are back from holiday, they will present in large numbers at the ED again.”

Dr Thornton says Counties Manukau Health has activated its escalation plans and is implementing an initiative which provides free consultations to CM Health residents (Eastern and Southern Auckland) who are appropriate to be seen for Urgent Care at any one of 16 participating clinics within the DHB catchment from today until Easter Monday, 5 April.

“The consultation fee waiver applies to CM Health residents – registered, casual or visitors, at any time of the day, for both in-clinic and offline patients for the next seven days - who are appropriate to be seen for Urgent Care.

“The fee waiver includes presentations for medical consultations, ACC co-payments, and repeat prescriptions however, fees outside the consultation can still be charged by the clinic,” says Dr Thornton.

“Even with this initiative in place we need our community’s continued support to keep ED free for accidents and/or emergencies. Not just today, not just tomorrow, but all the time.

“The impacts of having patients come to ED whose conditions could be treated at urgent or afterhours care clinics are having an effect on the patients who really need our help.

“This new initiative will enable our community to better find the most appropriate place to get the right care for their condition.”

ENDS

Participating clinics

Fee waiver details

The waiver applies to all CM Health residents – registered, casual or visitors, at any time of the day, for both in-clinic and offline patients for the next seven days - who are appropriate to be seen at urgent care.

Fees outside the consultation, such as those for consumables or procedures, may still be charged by the clinic.

Who to contact

If you don’t have a family doctor you can find one on Healthpoint which is an online directory for GPs and also provides information on Accident and Medical clinics.

Health advice also is available 24 hours a day by calling Healthline on 0800 611 116 with the service providing interpreters for non-English speakers.