Source: New Zealand Government
New funding will help upskill the frontline rural health workforce, enabling rural general practitioners to deliver planned care and allowing more people to receive care closer to home, Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey announced today.
“New Zealanders living in rural communities deserve to get the care they need, when they need it, closer to home and that’s exactly what we are delivering,” Mr Doocey says.
“Rural communities shouldn’t have to travel unnecessarily for planned healthcare. That’s why we are investing $1 million to train rural GPs to deliver planned care services locally. This will increase access to support for people living in rural areas and reduce the need for hospital visits.
“Planned care is traditionally delivered in hospital settings and organised ahead of time. Too often currently, people in rural areas are having to travel long distances or wait longer than necessary for this type of care. This will help reduce the need for travel.
“Training will focus on practical skills such as assessing and treating heavy or unusual bleeding and removing and examining skin lesions, along with other planned care priorities.
“More than 100 rural communities rely on rural general practitioners as the backbone of their local healthcare. Strengthening rural GPs’ planned care skills will help people receive treatment sooner and closer to home, prevent conditions from worsening, and reduce unnecessary travel and wait times.”
The funding will cover agreed training costs and cover for GPs while they train, enabling rural practitioners to take part without patients being disrupted. Training funding will be implemented through Health New Zealand, using local knowledge to ensure the funding is targeted where it will have the greatest impact for rural communities.
“We are backing our rural health workforce who are doing fantastic work, often under challenging circumstances.
“Our rural and remote communities are spread across long coastlines, mountain ranges, and islands. For some New Zealanders, the nearest hospital is hours away and specialist care is not always nearby. Now more patients will be able to access planned care locally, without having to travel long distances or wait longer than necessary.
“By investing in our rural frontline workforce rural communities can have confidence that care will be there when they need it.”
