‘Broken funding model’ and ‘anti-GP ideology’ causing GPs to leave jobs, doctor says

Bush Road Medical Centre general practitioner Dr Geoff Cunningham. Photo / RNZ, Katie Todd

By RNZ

A Whangārei doctor says the funding model in general practice is “beyond broken” and accused the Ministry of Health of having an “anti-GP ideology”.

Bush Road Medical Centre general practitioner Dr Geoff Cunningham told Morning Report that a survey completed last year showed that GPs were doing about 46% of their work unpaid – often after hours and on weekends.

Cunningham said he worked close to 11-hour days with a 10-minute lunch, as well as extra hours at night and on the weekends.

On Tuesday, the Act Party proposed easing pressure on GPs by getting pharmacists to treat more everyday conditions.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he was confident in his party’s promise of three free doctors’ visits a year, which he said was “realistic”.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins says his party will promise three free doctors' visits a year if in government. Photo / RNZ, Samuel Rillstone

Cunningham said he had “deep concerns” about Labour’s proposed policy because of limited capacity and its apparent reliance on AI.

He also described the idea that GPs were going to be replaced by other practitioners as “political sound bites”.

“There’s no such thing as a straightforward consult,” he said.

“And the data shows that having a regular GP, people are 30% less likely to be admitted. There’s a 30% reduction in all-cause mortality or death in that patient group.

“That’s going to happen as people lose touch with and contact and overall care with a regular general practitioner. We need to bolster the GP workforce.”

Cunningham said it wasn’t about recruitment, but rather retention.

He said more and more GPs were leaving because of the paperwork burden.

“They’re reducing their hours or they’re sliding into easier things that pay better like Telehealth, skin cancer, ADHD work, and even cannabis clinics and things like that,” he said.

“There’s no paperwork involved. There’s no after hours and they get paid more. It’s as simple as that.”

Cunningham said he loved his job and his patients but had “had a gutsful of the attitude and what seems to be a really deep-set anti-GP ideology, I think, in the Ministry of Health”.

He said in over 25 years as a GP, nothing seemed to have gone their way, including a lack of support from hospitals.

“We just seem to be underfunded every year. More and more work gets dumped on us unpaid every year,” Cunningham said.

“We get increasing lack of support from the hospitals. Increasingly, we can’t get X-rays, we can’t get ultrasounds.”

Cunningham said the ministry and Health New Zealand had to realise that people liked GPs.

“We know people who work in those organisations and there is an anti-GP ideology and sentiment in those organisations,” he said.

He said New Zealand was 2000 GPs short of Australia [on population ratio] and the public deserved better than that.

National's deputy leader Nicola Willis. Photo / RNZ, Mark Papalii

Fixing health services not ‘going to be an overnight success’

National’s deputy leader Nicola Willis told Morning Report the issues GPs were facing was why the Government was establishing the Waikato Medical School.

“A real focus for the medical school is on ensuring we have GPs in rural and regional New Zealand.”

Willis said a barrier for training at the moment was having to relocate to Dunedin or Auckland.

“We are working with the sector to relieve the pressure that is on them - things like extending prescriptions, allowing community pharmacies to do more...

“None of this is going to be an overnight success story but there is one thing that will make it a lot worse and that is by dramatically increasing demand for GP services.”

Willis was referring to Labour’s policy of giving every New Zealander three free visits to a GP.