GP patients 50 per cent down

said he thought Mcfarlane lived too far away to be impacted by the building, especially given the council’s recommended conditions, which were agreed between it and developers before the hearing.

If the application was approved, developers must put up a twometre-high acoustic fence on the northern and eastern boundaries, and storage units could not be accessed during certain hours. The council had also put in conditions to do with stormwater, which developers had agreed to.

Ayson Survey partner Terry Mcgrail, for Colonial Vineyard, said the building’s lights would not be stronger than ones on a garage, and would be triggered by movement. He thought the building’s potential noise impacts were ‘‘overstated’’.

Colonial Vineyard chairman Mark Davis said at the hearing he expected the building would mostly be used by residents, but wanted to keep options open to include commercial operators.

Independent commissioner Craig Welsh suggested a condition be written into the application banning any commercial activities which generated noise.

He would publish a decision next month.

While ‘‘very little’’ will change for GPS under level three restrictions, the impacts of coronavirus will be felt for years to come.

Under level three, GPS would still see most patients virtually, but perhaps would have more ability to refer patients into the hospital system.

Marlborough Primary Health Organisation chief executive Beth Tester said discussions were under way nationally about how health services would look.

‘‘We’re hoping that they may get more access to DHB diagnostic services and be able to refer more people to the hospital for more non-urgent cases,’’ she said.

Under level three, general practices would be open, but with appointments conducted online or over the phone where possible.

Hospitals would remain open for emergency care but some elective surgery and radiology would be provided.

Tester said primary care was supportive of any expansion of services to create more business for practices.

Under lockdown they had seen a huge decrease in patients and therefore cashflow. ‘‘Volumes have probably been 40 per cent or 50 per cent less than normal,’’ Tester said.

‘‘Business sustainability does becomes an issue. We have to see how we can assist because we don’t want to lose any businesses or staff.’’ Two rounds of government assistance – totalling $45 million – had been allocated, but Tester said more help was ‘‘definitely’’ needed.

As Marlborough had previously struggled with a regional doctor shortage, Tester said now could be a good time to get that ‘‘warrant of fitness’’ people may have put off due to full books.

As well as the financial impacts, Tester said the digital methods adopted during the pandemic would shape primary health care into the future.

Some practices had already introduced some virtual methods pre-coronavirus, but practices had now ‘‘taken up the challenge’’ of digital health care, with telephone and video appointments now the norm.

Health Care Home, a practice model designed to improve patient access to healthcare, had already been implemented in three Marlborough practices and had a ‘‘big emphasis’’ on providing alternatives to face-to-face appointments, its Health Care Home district-wide leader Victoria Leov said.