It was not the complete silver bullet but a funding increase to general practices has been welcomed by operators in the South.
Health Minister Simeon Brown announced recently general practices were set to benefit from what he described as "the largest funding boost in New Zealand’s history".
Under the agreement, Mr Brown said GPs would receive a 13.89% funding uplift this year. This brings the total government funding increase for GP clinics this financial year to $175 million.
Childhood immunisations were a key priority for the government, Mr Brown said.
"We want to see 95% of enrolled children fully immunised and we know GPs play a critical role in achieving that.
"That’s why this agreement includes performance payments for clinics that lift childhood immunisation rates by up to 10 percentage points, or to 95% of their enrolled population, with partial payment for partial achievement."
Gore Health chief executive Karl Metzler said you should "never look a gift horse in the mouth".
"I think any funding uplift in the current economic climate is welcome relief, and I think we should grab it with both hands," he said.
"I think [what] we have to remember is, this kind of uplift probably helps to support and prop up business as usual. It’s not going to alleviate the workforce crisis; it’s not the kind of funding that’s going to necessarily enable practices to afford to get new clinical staff overnight.
"It means your day-to-day operation budget, rather than breaking even or running at a loss, may now actually be able to break even or a small surplus. So it may help make general practice a bit more viable."
Money was not the main driver for an average primary care practitioner to do their job, he said.
But the funding would ease the day-to-day pressure of running a general practice.
Gore Health has five GPs, three nurse practitioners and two physician associates.
"This is a shot in the arm and it’s a move in the right direction. We’re very positive."
He paid tribute to the negotiating team who got the deal over the line
WellSouth Primary Health Network chief executive Andrew Swanson-Dobbs said the proposed capitation, which he calculated as an uplift of 9.13%, was welcomed.
Mr Swanson-Dobbs was a key part of the negotiations with Health NZ and worked together, over successive weeks, to find a solution.
"I am particularly proud of the uplift we have made for the rural sector, which initially started at 3% but now sits at 6.43%. For us, in Southern, rural general practice makes up more than half of our network, our community, our people, and is where we see the greatest constraints."
WellSouth has 79 practices with 347 GPs, 391 nurses and 35 nurse practitioners.
GP boosted funding
• $59 million capitation increase for patients enrolled with individual general practices.
• $60 million for improved patient access to appointments, and to encourage practices to provide more data.
• $30 million performance-based funding for improved immunisation outcomes.
• $26 million in additional funding to help GPs keep fees capped for certain sectors.
