After-hours GP care secured in city

WellSouth and Southern iwi have stepped in to make sure Invercargill doesn’t lose its after hours service.

The Invercargill Urgent Doctor Society shut its after-hours practice on Don St on Thursday, saying earlier in the month that the evolving nature of healthcare had rendered the service unsustainable.

WellSouth, the primary health organisation for Otago and Southland, is working with Te Hau o Te Ora, the partnership it has with Hokonui Rūnanga and Awarua Rūnaka to provide an after hours clinic at its Clyde St practice. The temporary solution will be in place until WellSouth can find a long-term one.

Working with Te Whatu Ora and local practices, the PHO has secured a mix of general practitioner, nurse practitioner, nurse, and administrative support staff for appointments between 6 and 9pm Monday to Friday and from 12noon to 4pm on Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays, including Southland Anniversary days.

Chief executive Andrew Swanson-Dobbs said they were please to be able to offer in person, after hours consultations to those who needed them.

“We will be meeting with local general practices and Health New Zealand in coming weeks to take a longer view on this and what a more permanent solution is, but for now, we just want to keep a service going for the community,” he said.

“There is still plenty of work to be done. We are very grateful to those in the Invercargill community who have stepped up to make this happen.”

The after-hours clinic is not an emergency department, and some clients when triaged by their telehealth service or by the Invercargill After Hours Clinic staff will need to go to Southland Hospital.