News late yesterday of a $285 million primary care package has been welcomed by Wellsouth Primary Health Network CEO Andrew Swanson-Dobbs, but he cautions there is more work to be done to address the acknowledged historical under-funding.
The government’s recent press release outlines several key initiatives, including 100 clinical placements for overseas-trained doctors, incentives to recruit up to 400 graduate registered nurses per year for three years, and a new 24/7 digital service for online medical appointments.
PHOs will be involved in further discussions with the minister this week alongside GPNZ to understand the detail and continue to advocate for general practices and for equitable solutions for our patients across our communities.
Andrew says, “PHOs, like WellSouth, are at the forefront of primary and community care, understand the needs and pressures of general practice and will continue to advocate for sustainable solutions.
“For us, a service such as the proposed new telehealth service needs to be patient-centred and, importantly, should not undermine current general practice or increase clinical risk to patients.
“Telehealth, while valuable, is not a complete solution to the general practice workforce crisis, nor is it suitable or accessible for every issue faced by the community. It must be part of a broader investment into the health ecosystem and support practice-based clinicians in an integrated model of care.
“We hope the incentives to attract overseas doctors and for practices to recruit graduate registered nurses will support keeping a local, on-the-ground workforce especially in our vulnerable rural communities.
“However, I have concerns about the “performance-based uplift” tied to achieving key targets such as keeping books open. Keeping books open when there may not be capacity could exacerbate waitlists and put additional pressure on emergency departments.
"It's unclear at this stage what the capitation uplift entails, if at all, and we will be report back on this matter with any details we receive.
"I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across the sector to ensure that this investment supports our primary care providers and enables patients to get the right care at the right time and place."
