Health line in reverse

Efforts to integrate PlunketLine into the free national Healthline phone advice service are to be reversed, with a separate Well Child service to be set up in June.

The Ministry of Health said that since the integration of Healthline and PlunketLine services last year, different expectations had emerged.

Plunket had requested the opportunity to contract for a separate service and spokesman Dr Pat Tuohy said full integration had been more difficult to achieve than expected.

In July last year the ministry contracted McKesson New Zealand to provide a national Healthline service, which incorporated advice on Well Child and parenting support. McKesson sub-contracted Plunket to provide the Well Child service via their PlunketLine.

The contract for the Well Child telephone advice service is to be put out to tender before Christmas, and Dr Tuohy said the ministry was working with the parties involved to ensure high-quality services were maintained during the process.

Healthline is a free national 24-hour telephone health advice service staffed by registered nurses. A nurse assesses a caller's health needs, using a computer triage system, and gives information and advice to help a caller decide on the type of health care they need.

- NZPA