GP College welcomes funding announcement

The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners has been campaigning long and hard for better access to GPs for low income families, and welcomes the government’s announcement for more affordable GP visits.

College President Dr Tim Malloy says he is delighted with today’s announcement.

“The fact that GP visits were unaffordable for hundreds of thousands of Kiwis was a major concern for the College and its members,” says Dr Malloy.

“The current Very Low Cost Access subsidy was not achieving what it was intended to do – and the situation needed to be urgently addressed,” he says.

“We are pleased our concerns have been heard, but most importantly, we are relieved for those who are most in need.

“Today’s announcement will go some way towards helping them to be able to afford to visit a GP when they are sick.

“We look forward to the opportunity to work with the Government to turn this proposal into reality.”