Some patients at East Otago Health Centre (EOHC) have said they did not mind seeing a nurse practitioner instead of a GP, but still felt that overall they had been shortchanged by the system.
One resident, whom the Otago Daily Times decided not to name, said South Link Health Services, which owns the health centre, seemed reluctant to appoint a GP.
The resident said a cynic might think South Link Health Services was working towards more lucrative, or less costly, practices.
"The centre has not had a doctor for some months and right now it only has one nurse practitioner and it takes two months to get an appointment.
"It is almost inevitable she will burn out," they said.
South Link Health Services, which operates a nationwide network of 23 general practices, acknowledged, but did not respond to, ODT questions last week.
Palmerston residents and the wider East Otago community fundraised to build the new health centre and the community’s effort was crucial in securing the necessary funds to replace the old, run-down facility and ensure essential health services remained in the district.
The resident said "most of the monies raised to build the centre was raised locally — many feel we deserve better".
Health New Zealand (HNZ) Te Waipounamu planning, investment and system change group manager Christine Nolan said HNZ did not work directly with general practices on workforce issues. This was the role of primary health organisations.
"East Otago Health partners with Ka Ora Telecare to provide same-day virtual GP appointments for enrolled patients, as an extension of its regular medical centre team," she said.
Ms Nolan said HNZ remained committed to improving access to rural healthcare services, including access to local GPs.
"The government provided HNZ with a $1.37 billion uplift in the 2025 budget, including to support a primary care capitation funding uplift."
Funding negotiations were now under way between HNZ and primary care providers, she said.
WellSouth chief executive Andrew Swanson-Dobbs said many practices relied on telehealth (virtual appointments) which was a "double-edged sword".
"A lot of the telehealth providers have taken away GPs and staff from frontline care who are now doing telehealth care.
"We’ve got no capacity in our urgent care service to deal with everyone that used to go to see a GP or a doctor . . . the landscape for access in primary care needs more thought and consideration about where the resources go," he said.
Mr Swanson-Dobbs said it was not uncommon in New Zealand for there to be doctor shortages.
While health ministers had a health target of 80% of people getting access within a week "that was going to be a stretch for some practices, especially rural isolated ones that have a limited pool of workers", he said.
Until there was pay parity for doctors and nurses in primary care to their secondary care colleagues, there was no even landscape or playing field, he said.
Mr Swanson Dobbs said while he was unaware what was happening at EOHC, WellSouth "would work with the owners to help find staff to work there".
