Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Pregnancy and STI fears over cash cuts

Rotorua Daily Post
25 Jun, 2012 07:52 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article

If funding for sexual health clinics was removed from Rotorua the city could see an increase in sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.

Many young Aucklanders face having to pay for previously free sexual health consultations because of the Government's squeeze on health dollars.

This is expected to contribute to an increase in New Zealand's already internationally high rates of teenage pregnancy and some sexually transmitted infections, including chlamydia.

Last year, 15 district health boards reported 25,000 positive tests for the disease, according to a report for the Health Ministry.

The ProCare primary healthcare group provides sexual health advice and treatment free to all under 22 in central Auckland.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In other parts of the region the free service is restricted to "high-needs" people under 22 - defined as Maori, Pacific and those who live in the poorest fifth of localities - but in practice it is also provided free to many others in this age group.

From next month, the service will be free only to high-needs patients.

However, other health services in Auckland provide sexual health services - such as Family Planning and the East Health clinics. Both are free for the young.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rotorua youth health centre clinical leader Dr Tania Pinfold said the funding for the Rotorua clinic had "luckily" remained unchanged. "When I heard about what was happening in Auckland I was a bit concerned," she said.

"But our funding isn't changing. Thank God it is not happening to us."

The Rotorua youth health centre provides free healthcare to those under the age of 25.

Dr Pinfold said hundreds of youths used the health centre and the majority of those used the centre for sexual health consultations and contraception.

"We do about 500 consults a month and about 300 of those are for sexual health or contraception."

She said if Rotorua faced similar cuts like in Auckland it would have a huge impact on the city's youth.

"Cost is a major barrier to those who use our services," she said.

"If we were to start charging people, a high number of those who come to us, won't come."

Youth health specialist Dr Simon Denny, of the University of Auckland, said New Zealand already had high rates of young people not going to the doctor when they needed to.

"Especially young people who are sexually active," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"This is just going to make further barriers for them."

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post
|Updated

Govt announces more money for storm-hit farmers and growers

27 Jan 07:14 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Where do we put them?': Rotorua school rolls rise but classroom space slimming

27 Jan 05:50 PM
Premium
Rotorua Daily Post
|Updated

Mount Maunganui 'misinformation': Did cutting down trees really cause the landslide?

27 Jan 05:12 PM

Sponsored

Discover Australia with AAT Kings’ easy-going guided holidays 

15 Jan 12:33 AM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Govt announces more money for storm-hit farmers and growers
Rotorua Daily Post
|Updated

Govt announces more money for storm-hit farmers and growers

The extra funding is for those in Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, and Tairāwhiti.

27 Jan 07:14 PM
'Where do we put them?': Rotorua school rolls rise but classroom space slimming
Rotorua Daily Post

'Where do we put them?': Rotorua school rolls rise but classroom space slimming

27 Jan 05:50 PM
Premium
Premium
Mount Maunganui 'misinformation': Did cutting down trees really cause the landslide?
Rotorua Daily Post
|Updated

Mount Maunganui 'misinformation': Did cutting down trees really cause the landslide?

27 Jan 05:12 PM


Discover Australia with AAT Kings’ easy-going guided holidays 
Sponsored

Discover Australia with AAT Kings’ easy-going guided holidays 

15 Jan 12:33 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP