General Practice Gives Cautious Thumbs Up To Primary Healthcare Boost

General practice is giving a cautious thumbs up to the government saying it will increase investment in general practice and help grow the workforce, said Angus Chambers, Chair of the General Practice Owners Association (GenPro).

“On the face of it, today’s announcement is good news for general practice and our patients, but we’ll need to look more closely at the package before celebrating,” Dr Chambers said.

“While general practice will welcome the focus on growing the numbers of GPs - which is essential to an accessible high-quality GP service - and we’re pleased to see investment in nursing, we are disappointed that the key issue of nurse pay parity has not yet been addressed.”

In regard to the announced 100 placements for overseas-trained doctors, Dr Chambers said while this was positive, retaining the current workforce should have equal priority to bringing in new staff.

“And we need to see the detail around the 24/7 digital service, as overseas experience suggests that telehealth has little impact on key targets for access and waiting times,” Dr Chambers said.

GenPro looks forward to working with the Minister of Health to support this investment achieving the right outcomes.

GenPro members are owners and providers of general practices and urgent care centres throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. For more information visit www.genpro.org.nz

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