Network chief executive Grant Davidson said rural general practices and hospitals are at risk of closure or having to significantly reduce services if their staff need to isolate due to Covid-19.
"We surveyed rural practices and hospitals for their greatest concerns as Omicron circulates in the community, overwhelmingly, the message was that their community's health would be compromised if any of their staff went down sick.
"We believe this will provide some hope and support to practices with fatigued and stressed staff that have been up against it for long periods of time already."
Rural General Practice Network clinical director Dr Jeremy Webber said some rural areas are already facing a surge of patients which is stretching resources.
"For a long time we've known about the workforce crisis in rural healthcare and Covid is really bringing that to the fore.
"The challenge we have is inequitable distribution - rural communities up in the far north are being overrun and those of us that are waiting for that surge to come through are really anticipating a real challenge for our workforce in the coming days and weeks."
Webber said there has been an increase of cases presenting at Taupō Hospital where he works.
"We've certainly got cases coming through the emergency department, we're not having anybody admitted to Taupō Hospital at the moment but it's certainly starting to impact our workforce. So we've lost 20 per cent of our doctor workforce due to positive cases.
"We're expecting things to get worse because all of the schools are flushed with Covid and most hospital staff have got young kids so it will get through the community."
Webber said locum services are really stretched so he hopes the new Tautoko Rural initiative improves the situation.
The Ministry of Health would not say how much it has given for the Tautoko Rural initiative citing commercial sensitivity.
- RNZ
