3 Mar 2017

Doctors angry government slow to fix GP funding woes

From Morning Report, 8:37 am on 3 March 2017

Family doctors are angry about what they believe is government inaction over growing financial troubles in their sector.

It's a year since a government-appointed working group recommended sweeping changes to a hotly debated aspect of general practice funding.

While they wait, GPs say they're being squeezed and it can't continue.

Portrait of Whangarei GP, Andrew Miller at the Bush Road Medical Centre

Whangarei GP, Andrew Miller at the Bush Road Medical Centre Photo: RNZ/Karen Brown

Andrew Miller, a GP at Bush Road Medical Centre in Whangarei, says a third of his patients can't afford the $38 fee.

"Every practice in the country has patients with high needs but," and "to let a system work where 500,000 high needs patients in New Zealand pay high fees and to have 500,000 wage and salary earners pay low fees just because they are going to a practice that charges low fees is completely illogical."

And you can hear more about this on Insight during Sunday with Wallace Chapman