Better access to doctors for under-6s
At the beginning of July many important Government policies came into effect.
One major milestone is that free after-hours doctors’ visits for children under six began.
90% of New Zealand children aged under-six now have access to free after-hours visits, including the Kapiti and Horowhenua, where fees have been scrapped at various after-hours clinics.
Services are available at Team Medical Paraparaumu, the Otaki Medical Centre, Foxton Family Health Centre, and rostered GPs will cover Levin and Shannon.
GPs in the region already offer free doctors’ visits for under-sixes during regular business hours. As a parent of three young children myself, I know how valuable this extended service will be for parents.
Children don’t always fall ill during regular hours, and we know that their condition can change quickly. I find the freephone healthline can be really helpful on 0800 611 116.
This new policy will act as a preventative measure, as it could help reduce the numbers of young children presenting to our busy hospital emergency departments with an illness or injury that a GP could have treated.
After-hours fees for under-sixes previously averaged about $17, but varied from being free to costing nearly $100 per visit at the extreme end. This change should mean that parents won’t put off taking their children to the doctor because of the cost.
This is a great achievement, given the tough economic circumstances we’ve faced in recent years. It shows what can be achieved by focusing on frontline services that make a real difference in people’s lives.
This is the rollout of another National Government election commitment, at a cost of $28 million over four years.
Because most general practices are private businesses, DHBs have been negotiating with GPs and after-hours clinics to implement this policy. Participation is voluntary, which means that some practices may chose not to take part.
The Government has told DHBs to continue discussing this with clinics not already signed up over the next few months, so I’m hopeful we’ll see even more clinics come on board.