The Western Bay of Plenty is moving away from its after-hours roster system for urgent care after new national funding aimed at strengthening urgent care services. Photo / 123rf
The Western Bay of Plenty is moving away from its after-hours roster system for urgent care after new national funding aimed at strengthening urgent care services. Photo / 123rf
A decade-old, “unsustainable” after-hours medical care service in the Western Bay of Plenty will be overhauled.
It comes as a breakaway GP brand launches its own after-hours service today, saying the old regional one had clinicians regularly working 11-hour days.
Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation (PHO) chief executiveLindsey Webber said its after-hours obligation with Health New Zealand required general practices to ensure their enrolled patients had all-hours, in-person access to care.
After-hours care was originally managed by GPs, however, “this approach became unsustainable over time”, Webber said.
Since 2014, the PHO has had after-hours care agreements. This included subcontracting Accident and HealthCare Tauranga to provide urgent care services, supported by a Western Bay-wide GP roster, she said.
Webber said under this arrangement, all general practices in the PHO and Ngā Mataapuna Oranga networks contributed an annual set number of after-hours shifts at Accident and Healthcare.
In 2023, the PHO contracted virtual provider Practice Plus, which offered same-day online consults with GPs from 8am to 8pm on weekends and public holidays, and 9am to 10pm on weekdays, Webber said.
She said the after-hours arrangement had provided “consistent coverage” across the region for more than a decade.
Webber said following new national funding aimed at strengthening urgent care services, Health NZ was leading a six-month transition away from the after-hours roster system in the Western Bay.
The PHO had been invited to contribute to the planning and design of in-person urgent care and after-hours services, which were sustainable from a workforce and financial perspective, she said.
“We are committed to supporting a future model that builds on what has worked, and to ensuring care remains available when people need it most.”
The PHO continued to support access to after-hours care across the district, working alongside providers and funders to minimise disruption and maintain availability of urgent services, she said.
The Tend clinic in Pāpāmoa – one of four under the brand in Western Bay of Plenty. Photo / Supplied
The PHO had been struggling in recent months, with some GP clinics leaving the organisation over funding-related issues.
The Bay of Plenty Times reported in May that Tend had 17,000 enrolled patients across its four Western Bay of Plenty practices in Tauranga, Greerton, Bethlehem and Pāpāmoa.
Tend chief medical officer Dr Graham Denyer said the after-hours model in the Bay of Plenty had been “unsustainable” for its clinicians. It exited its agreement with the Western Bay PHO in April last year.
“Our team was often being rostered into evening or weekend shifts after already completing full clinic days, regularly working 11-plus hour days,” Denyer said.
He said clinicians were expected to care for patients “without access to complete medical records, in a different scope of practice”.
“With weekend shifts eroding their ability to rest and recover, the model has proven unsustainable.
“We’ve made the decision to establish an improved, clinically and operationally sound solution, one that puts both our patients and our clinicians at the centre.”
The Tend clinic in Greerton will offer same-day urgent appointments on weekends and public holidays from July 1. Photo / Supplied
A June 12 Tend statement said it would deliver urgent, same-day care from July 1 for its enrolled Bay of Plenty patients.
Tend would run weekday clinics with extended hours “into the early evening” for urgent, same-day, in-person appointments.
On weekends and public holidays, it would offer same-day urgent appointments at its Greerton clinic.
These appointments would be offered by referral, either through Online Now consultations or on-the-day nurse triage.
Tend’s 24/7 telehealth service “Online Now” – which launched in the Bay of Plenty in March last year – was available for enrolled and casual patients.
Tend said enrolled patients would be prioritised for in-clinic appointments, and it was “reviewing options” to expand face-to-face access for casual patients as capacity allowed.
In a statement, Health Minister Simeon Brown said it meant people could have virtual consultations with New Zealand-registered doctors and nurses, anytime, anywhere.
It would help ease pressure on emergency departments and “bridge the gap” when traditional GP access was not possible, his statement said.
“[The service] does not replace the critical role of GPs, who are responsible for their patients’ continuity of care.” Digital service providers must send notes back to the patient’s GP.
