The changes come after Health Action Wānaka expressed concern the Lakes District town, which is nearly four hours’ drive from Dunedin Hospital, was considered to be as rural as Ashburton by Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ).
The organisation feared Wānaka would lose after-hours urgent care funding as a result of the initially proposed changes.
WellSouth chief executive Andrew Swanson-Dobbs said the GP network was pleased HNZ had listened to the sector’s concerns.
‘‘There are several changes to consider, but what has been parked is the rurality component.
‘‘This will be re-looked at over the coming year.’’
WellSouth integration manager Stuart Barson said the overall capitation proposal remained, which included a nationwide uplift of $120 million.
But more work needed to be done on the rural funding component.
‘‘It’s great that some practices and communities have got more, but our view is that no-one should be worse off.
‘‘The rising tide of funding should lift all ships, so to speak.
‘‘How the rural formula is applied doesn’t sit with the lived experience of some of those places.’’
HNZ acting director for funding Martin Hefford thanked the sector for its feedback.
‘‘The proposed contract package is being refined in response to feedback.
‘‘A date extension for further feedback has been confirmed with PHO agreement negotiators.’’
Earlier in the week, Health Minister Simeon Brown urged parties not to litigate negotiations through the media.
Labour MP Damien O’Connor, who sent a letter to Mr Brown about the Wānaka situation, said it was unsurprising given the government’s approach.
‘‘This government has just not been very good with the whole democratic process.
‘‘The urgency has been outrageous, and they’ve pushed things through without much public input.’’
In this case, the government should be commended for slowing down the process.
‘‘It’s a temporary win for the rural community, but clearly we have to be very careful from here and keep a close eye on the negotiations and any changes.’’
Health Action Wānaka chairwoman Monique Mayze welcomed the extended timeframe for submissions, which were now due on Thursday, but said the Otago University-designed Geographic Classification for Health was only ever a guide, and never intended to help set health funding policy.
‘‘While we acknowledge Health New Zealand has responded to community concerns by removing rural funding from the revised proposal, we remain concerned that Wānaka’s R1 classification has been retained.
‘‘Wānaka is a growing community, but growth alone does not remove our rurality.
‘‘We are a significant distance from the nearest emergency department and we lack a sustainable urgent care service.
‘‘We are calling on Health New Zealand to reclassify Wānaka as R2, in line with the evidence and the lived experience of our community.’’
