Hauora Taiwhenua Celebrates Government Investment In Rural Urgent Care Services While Waiting For Support In Budget 2026

Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network welcomes the Government’s investment in Urgent Care services. “Urgent and unplanned care, including PRIME services, has been an identified priority concern for rural general practice for many years. We are glad to see the Government placing focus on this and looking to apply increased funding,” comments Chief Executive of Hauora Taiwhenua, Dr Grant Davidson.

We are proud to be an active partner in the Rural and Remote Urgent Care Prototype Project that is going to put the recommendations of the Rural Urgent and Unplanned Care (RUUC) redesign work to test. It will ‘rural proof’ the National Afterhours and Urgent Care Framework prior to its implementation across rural communities over the next couple of years.

This initiative marks a pivotal step in our ongoing advocacy for equitable healthcare in rural Aotearoa. It directly addresses the long-standing concerns of rural communities and providers about the lack of timely, locally delivered afterhours and urgent care. By supporting solutions that are designed by and for rural providers, this project empowers communities to shape services that reflect their realities, uphold their mana, and improve health outcomes for rural whānau.

Six rural and remote communities across Aotearoa have been selected as prototype sites, including Great Barrier Island, Coromandel, Te Kuiti, Tūrangi, Golden Bay, and Twizel. Over the next few months, they will test innovative models of care that integrate clinical expertise, technology, and community-based solutions to improve the access that rural communities have to health services. These efforts aim to reduce patient travel, improve diagnostic speed, and ensure that rural whānau receive the care they need, when and where they need it.

Dr Grant Davidson, Chief Executive of Hauora Taiwhenua, says: “This could be a game-changer for rural health. The solutions will be designed by rural providers, tested out by rural providers and ultimately, implemented by rural providers”.

“We are excited to be part of this prototype project, which will not only improve urgent care access but also strengthen the sustainability of rural health services across the motu.”

Hauora Taiwhenua looks forward to working alongside Health NZ, ACC, and rural providers to evaluate and refine these models, with the goal of scaling successful approaches nationally.

This does not diminish our concerns about promises that the Coalition partners made to rural health prior to the election. We wait to see if the budget on Thursday addresses these pledges, which impact the overall sustainability of rural health delivery across New Zealand.

• We need our primary care nurses paid at equivalent rates to Te Whatu Ora nurses - equal pay for equal work.
• We need capitation funding increased to meet the costs of primary care delivery as evidenced by independent research funded by Health NZ. Further analysis carried out by HNZ in 2025 has shown that costs of primary care are higher for rural practices and Māori in those practices. This increased capitation should be passed on to the critical general practice teams operating in rural areas. We don't want to see further costs passed on to the community by expecting people to pay higher fees when they visit their doctor. This will reduce access and lead to even worse health outcomes.
• The rural focussed third Medical School at Waikato University was a key manifesto pledge of the National Party, and yet there has been no action. This needs to be funded now. If not, then funding that is specifically targeted to more medical placements in rural areas through the existing Medical Schools, with no ability for those Universities to repurpose the extra funding.
• Funding the long-promised interprofessional rural training hubs, which are clearly prioritised in the Health Workforce Plan.
• Funding Rural Hospitals so that they can sustainably offer key services to rural communities.

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