Reforms needed to help GPs open books

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-07-19 00:01

New Zealand

Image by National Cancer Institute on UnSplash

Up to 80% of general practices in Aotearoa had closed books at some point between 2019 and 2022. In a survey, primary care experts and practitioners said there was an urgent need to address workforce shortages, lack of space, and underfunding to ensure that all Kiwis can enrol in a practice. They recommend boosting medical student numbers and increasing the length of student placements in general practices, as well as new funding models and closing the pay gap between primary care and hospital staff.

Media release

From: Pasifika Medical Association Group

In this study, researchers talked to experts and professionals working in general practices to understand why some GPs cannot take new patients. They found a few main reasons: not enough doctors and nurses, not enough money to cover the costs, staff having too much work, problems because of COVID-19 and worries about how good the care is if they take on too many patients. To fix this, they suggested hiring more doctors from other countries, training more medical students and giving them more experiences in general practice, making sure GPs and nurses get paid as much as those in hospitals, and changing how the government gives money to general practices based on patient needs.

Journal/
conference: New Zealand Medical Journals

Organisation/s: Victoria University of Wellington

Funder: This study was funded by the Lottery Health Research Funding Grant – “The challenge of closed books in primary care access, health outcomes and equity in Aotearoa New Zealand” (LHR-2022-186638).

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