New research shows GP appointments are becoming harder to
find and too short to be effective for Kiwi families and the
Alliance says change is needed.
The Alliance Party is
demanding a major shift in how New Zealand funds primary
healthcare, following research published in The
Conversation which confirms a growing crisis in GP
access.
Alliance Party Health Spokesperson Ethan
Gullery says the current system is built on a “profound
contradiction” that rewards processing volume rather than
ensuring community wellness.
Mr Gullery says the
15-minute GP appointment is the single most effective tool
we have for preventing expensive hospital admissions, yet it
is the work the current funding model rewards the
least.
“Underfunding primary care is not a savings
measure – it is a catastrophic false economy.”
Mr
Gullery says we can choose to pay a small amount now to keep
people well, or we can continue to pay a much higher cost in
human terms and economic terms later when they arrive at the
Emergency Department.
The research also highlights a
“hidden subsidy” keeping the health system afloat,
particularly within community pharmacies.
“It is an
indictment of our system that a pharmacist who prevents a
life-threatening drug interaction is not paid for their
clinical judgement. That life-saving work is effectively
being subsidised by the profit margins on vitamins sold at
the front of the shop. You cannot run a public health system
like a retail transaction business and expect healthy
communities,” Mr Gullery says.
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The Alliance is
particularly concerned that the current capitation funding
formula is failing the most vulnerable New
Zealanders.
Clinics in lower-income areas, which
manage high rates of diabetes, respiratory disease, and
mental health complexity, are being financially penalised
for the high-needs populations they serve.
“The
clinics doing the heaviest lifting are being pushed to the
brink because the funding doesn’t account for the reality of
patient complexity. This is a direct hit on our poorest
communities and our rural towns. You cannot serve our people
by simply funnelling more money into big-city hospitals
while the local clinics crumble.”
The Alliance Party
is calling for a “well-being first” funding model that
prioritises the full primary care team – including GPs,
nurses, and pharmacists – and measures success by health
outcomes rather than “patient
throughput.”
“Health is a public good, not a
commodity,” says Mr Gullery.
“We need to stop our
efforts going to the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff
and start funding the fence at the top. It’s time to stop
paying later for the neglect of the
present.”
