Health Minister Simeon Brown wants primary healthcare, GP wait time target

Health Minister Simeon Brown wants to introduce a target for primary care wait times.

He told Q+A on Sunday morning that he’s seeking advice on what that target could look like.

“My view is there should be [a primary health target], but in terms of what that should be, I’ve asked for advice on how you measure that,” Brown said.

The minister suggested it would be around the acceptable waiting time to see a general practitioner (GP).

“My view is you should be able to get an appointment within a week. I think there are far too many New Zealanders waiting longer than a week to get an appointment, particularly in our rural communities,” Brown said.

“I want to go through a process to make sure I get good advice on that. Our GPs do amazing work on the frontline.”

He said he wanted to ensure GPs had the resources and support to deliver.

Health Minister Simeon Brown has sought advice on a new target. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Government has multiple health targets in place, but none deal directly with wait times at primary care, which people commonly understand as being assistance provided by local GPs.

In March last year, five key health targets were announced around ensuring faster cancer treatment, improving child immunisation, shorter stays in emergency departments (EDs), shorter wait times for their first specialist assessment, and shorter wait times for elective treatment.

At the time, Labour’s health spokeswoman Dr Ayesha Verrall said they “ignored the general practice and primary care” parts of the health system “which Kiwis use the most”.

“Doctors’ fees remain high, GP enrolments remain untenable, and prescription fees are returning. Those who need healthcare most desperately, and those with complex needs will not get the care they need.”

Two of those health targets – shorter stays in EDs and wait times for electives – are also two of the Government’s core public service targets. A report released in December covering the quarter ending September 30 found both targets could were “feasible” to achieve.

In September 2023 – the baseline – 68% of patients were admitted, discharged or transferred from an ED within six hours. This had improved to 71.2% by June 2024, with the target being 95% by 2030.

The Government also wants 95% of people to wait less than four months for elective treatments. This was 62% in September 2023, and down to 61.4% in June last year.

Brown on Sunday accepted there were “significant challenges” in the healthcare system and believed having the targets would help, as “if you’re not measuring it, how are you managing it?”

He highlighted that one of the ways he wanted to achieve the elective treatment target was by partnering more with the private sector.

“I’d like to see as much planned care, those elective surgeries done by the private sector so that we can make sure our hospitals are more focused on acute care and services that will take time.”

Brown wants to see more partnership with the private sector. Photo / 123RF

In a speech on Friday, he said he had asked Health New Zealand to work with the private sector to agree to a set of principles to underpin future outsourcing contracts. That includes negotiating longer-term, multi-year agreements and agreeing on plans to recruit, share and train staff who bridge both public and private hospitals.

“Long term, I want as much planned care as possible to be delivered in partnership with the private sector, freeing public hospitals for acute needs,” he said in his speech.

“However, this needs to be done in a way which is mutually beneficial for our public health system and our workforce.

“To be clear, the system remains publicly funded, so everyone has access, but this will allow Health New Zealand to leverage private capacity to reduce wait times for patients.”

Privatisation was in the headlines earlier this year after Act leader David Seymour said New Zealand needed to move past a “squeamishness” about it.

“We are now spending nearly $6000 per citizen on healthcare,” Seymour said in January,

“How many people here would give up their right to the public healthcare system if they got $6000 for their own private insurance? Should we allow people to opt out of the public healthcare system, and take their portion of funding with them so they can go private?”

Brown, who became Health Minister in January after a Cabinet reshuffle, made a series of announcements this week focused on improving access to primary care and boosting its workforce.

That includes the development of a new 24/7 digital service for New Zealanders to be able to access GP assistance at any time.

Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.