Local patients to pay $180 for Wānaka after hours, overseas, $650

The health minister has announced Wānaka's promised after hours service will be up and running from mid-October - after earlier indications from Health New Zealand the service would be operational this month.

In a statement this week Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announces doors will open on the seven-day-a-week overnight service from Monday, October 14.

There will be tiered pricing for use of the nurse-led service, with the amount patients pay influenced by where they usually see a doctor, how old they are, and what's wrong with them.

Patients enrolled with a local GP practice will pay $180 for an appointment, while patients with injuries covered by ACC will pay $65 and under 14 year olds, nothing.

However fees ramp up for out of towners, who will be charged $280 for an appointment, and overseas visitors and non-residents, who will be charged $650.

It has been more than two years since after hours care has been offered in Wānaka, after GP practices pulled out citing staff shortages, leaving residents and visitors with an hour-plus drive to see a doctor.

Dr Reti acknowledges the community has been calling for an overnight service for some time.

He thinks the new model, that requires patients to ring ahead in order to be triaged to the after hours clinic, where they will be seen by a nurse, who will have remote support from a doctor based at Dunstan Hospital, is a good solution.

"This is a clear example of how collaboration between providers can lead to better access to health services, closer to home," he says.

"By combining in person local support with elements of telehealth, expert healthcare will be available overnight in Wānaka.

"Residents will no longer need to travel such long distances, it will alleviate pressure on the local health workforce and free up ambulance services for emergencies."

However, Dr Reti has only committed to funding the operation for the next year, as a stop-gap.

“There is still more to do. This is an interim solution while Health New Zealand continues to look at alternate models of care that can be provided in the long-term across the region," he says.

Central Otago Health Services Limited, which operates and manages Dunstan Hospital, has confirmed it has received funding from Health New Zealand to run the Wānaka service, but it will charge a "patient co-payment" on top.

Wānaka's new after hours emergency service fees.

The Wānaka after hours service will be located at the Aspiring Enliven Care Centre, located beside the Wānaka Lakes Health Centre, on Cardrona Valley Road, and will operate from 11pm.

But the clinic will not provide a walk-in service.

Central Otago Health Services Limited says patients will need to ring their own GP practice number, and follow the prompts to connect with the national Ka Ora phone service. If required, they will then be triaged to the Wānaka after hours clinic. Anyone in town without a local GP, can also ring Ka Ora directly.

Hato Hone St John may refer patients to the clinic too.

Central Otago Health Services Limited says among the services able to be provided by the nurses are blood testing, cardiac monitoring, administering of fluids, minor suture and laceration repair, and providing pain medication, as well as general assessment and observation.