Guy welcomes free after-hours care for under-6s
Otaki MP Nathan Guy has welcomed the Government’s plans to extend free doctors visits for children under-six to after-hours.
"This is great news for families. As a parent of three young children I know they don’t always fall sick during normal hours, and how worrying it can be,” says Mr Guy.
"All children deserve the best possible start in life, and the first five years are crucial to their development.
"I know this is a great policy because I’ve had a number of local people raise this issue with me over the last year or so.
"Our region is recognised as a great place to bring up children because of the lifestyle and outdoors here. We have 3,848 local children of pre-school age in the Otaki electorate who will benefit from this great policy.*
"According to the Ministry of Health, after-hours fees for under-sixes can vary from $0 to nearly $100 per consultation in an extreme case, with an estimated average fee of around $17.
"This is another good example of the Government focusing on frontline services and getting better services for the public."
DHBs will negotiate with local GP networks and after-hours clinics on a district by district basis aiming for a 1 July 2012 rollout.
More information is available here: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/free-after-hours-care-under-six-year-olds
*According to the 2006 census, the Otaki electorate has 3,848 people aged 0 to 4 years and 4,422 people aged 5 to 9 years.
"This is great news for families. As a parent of three young children I know they don’t always fall sick during normal hours, and how worrying it can be,” says Mr Guy.
"All children deserve the best possible start in life, and the first five years are crucial to their development.
"I know this is a great policy because I’ve had a number of local people raise this issue with me over the last year or so.
"Our region is recognised as a great place to bring up children because of the lifestyle and outdoors here. We have 3,848 local children of pre-school age in the Otaki electorate who will benefit from this great policy.*
"According to the Ministry of Health, after-hours fees for under-sixes can vary from $0 to nearly $100 per consultation in an extreme case, with an estimated average fee of around $17.
"This is another good example of the Government focusing on frontline services and getting better services for the public."
DHBs will negotiate with local GP networks and after-hours clinics on a district by district basis aiming for a 1 July 2012 rollout.
More information is available here: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/free-after-hours-care-under-six-year-olds
*According to the 2006 census, the Otaki electorate has 3,848 people aged 0 to 4 years and 4,422 people aged 5 to 9 years.