Wānaka will have an after-hours health service for primary and urgent care, following heavy advocacy from local groups in the area, but there is no timeline for when that will begin.
Health New Zealand (HNZ) announced yesterday the town and its rapidly growing population will finally get 24/7 healthcare.
At minimum, it should gain face-to-face, after-hours care to walk-in patients from 6pm to 8pm, Monday to Friday, an on-call service from 8pm-8am, and a face-to-face service available to walk-in patients from 9am to 5pm, on weekends and public holidays.
HNZ hopes to extend the on-site clinician’s hours from 6pm to 8pm during the week and from 9am to 5pm on weekends and public holidays.
"We encourage multiple providers to work together to ensure 24-hour coverage."
The clinic will be staffed by a minimum of two clinicians.
Clinicians are currently on call from 6pm, and on weekends from 9am-5pm. On-site clinicians are available 9am-noon and 3pm-6pm.
In a statement, Minister of Health Simeon Brown said this was part of the nationwide $164 million investment to strengthen urgent and after-hours healthcare services.
"My priority is ensuring that all New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare."
There was no date as to when this would be implemented.
There was also no solid answer as to what type of health professional would be attending the after-hours in-person, or over-the-phone services.
"Depending on need, it may include general practitioners or rural hospital doctors, emergency medical technicians, allied health professionals, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, registered nurses, enrolled nurses, healthcare assistants or administrators," the statement said.
It was up to the healthcare provider to make that decision, and there was no mention of funding new staff to hire extra staff for the service.
The service would be connected to local St John Hato Hone, clinicians at Dunstan Hospital and Lakes District Hospital, and with the Emergency Department at Dunedin Hospital.
Advocate for better healthcare, Health Action Wānaka was pleased HNZ had been listening.
"It’s great to see that there is progress on delivering continued after-hours care for our community," steering committee chair Monique Mayze said.
The group were specifically pleased the proposed service would remain free to all eligible children aged under 14.
Health Action Wānaka had advocated for Mr Brown and the ministry to remove cost as a barrier to people’s health in the Upper Clutha area.
"Our position is that symptoms that would be treated for free at a publicly funded emergency department, should be free for people in our community who present with the same symptoms seeking after-hours urgent and unplanned care."
"Given our isolation, including our distance from an ED and a tertiary-level hospital, people must be able to get the help they need, when they need it," she said.
They also hope to see HNZ fund radiology services (X-ray and ultrasound) in Wānaka, including over the weekends, so people can get timely diagnosis.
Wanaka and the surrounds is facing some of the fastest growth in New Zealand (Infometrics regional growth profile shows annual growth of 3.8% for the region compared to the national average of 1.78% in 2024 and a 5-year average growth of 4.6% per annum for the region, compared to 1.2% nationally).
The main town centre is 272km from Dunedin Hospital, 246km from Southland Hospital, 77km from Dunstan Hospital and 64km from Lakes District Hospital.
The statement said a framework was being developed whereby HNZ and providers could agree variations, adaptations and additional service features based on local demand.
