GPS struggle to meet workload demands
work involved doing the paperwork required for the practice to access funding and remain open.
Te Mete said it would welcome any “necessary government intervention and support”.
Paid time for non-clinical work ‘not an unreasonable expectation’
In a press release, Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners medical director and Tauranga GP Dr Luke Bradford said 4.5 hours of patient consultations generated 3.5 hours of follow-up work and helped to explain why getting an appointment could be difficult.
“To make ourselves available to see more patients, many choose to move the non-contact clinical work into our evenings or weekends, or sacrifice training, teaching or clinical governance time to complete it.”
“This is the work that we are not remunerated for, despite it being a core part of our role.
“Having dedicated and remunerated time to do important patient follow-up and administrative work during the day is not an unreasonable expectation to have. Neither is working more manageable hours and having a sustainable patient load.”
GP funding system ‘has limitations’: Te Whatu Ora
Approached for comment, Te Whatu Ora Health NZ referred to a statement provided to the Bay of Plenty Times on March 7.
In the statement, Te Whatu Ora living well director Martin Hefford said it recognised general practice was the “cornerstone” of the health system, providing vital care to patients.
“We acknowledge that the current capitation funding system for general practice has limitations, as it does not include important factors such as socioeconomic status or ethnicity.”
Hefford said Health NZ acknowledged the pressures on the GP workforce and was addressing this through targeted international recruitment and domestic training.
He said Health NZ had taken “some steps” to improve the way it funded general practice capability and capacity.
Funding for all primary and community health services, including general practice, increased by 5 per cent from July 1 last year, he said in the statement.
Hefford said an equity adjustment to capitation had been implemented to lift funding for Ma¯ori- and Pacificowned general practices, and those general practices with an enrolled population of at least 50 per cent Ma¯ori and/or Pacific, by a total of $24.4 million in 2023/24.
He said Health NZ was also adding more GP and nurse practitioner training placements.
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.