{"id":492176,"date":"2026-06-23T21:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T21:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/492176\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T21:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T21:39:09","slug":"health-funding-increase-insulting-for-struggling-northland-clinics-doctor-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/492176\/","title":{"rendered":"Health funding increase \u2018insulting\u2019 for struggling Northland clinics, doctor says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clinics cannot increase patient fees this year but will receive extra funding for improved results<\/a> on immunisations, cancer screening and long-term health conditions.<\/p>\n

Brown said extra funding for rural practices<\/a> means rural communities will benefit significantly.<\/p>\n

He said 86% of GP clinics voted in favour of the package.<\/p>\n

But one outspoken GP, Dr Geoff Cunningham from Whang\u0101rei\u2019s Bush Road Medical Centre<\/a>, said the package was \u201ca lemon\u201d and practices only voted in support because it was the better of two bad options.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur funding formula is so broken, it punishes GPs for working in the highest need areas<\/a>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"DrDr Geoff Cunningham, from Bush Road Medical Centre in Te Kamo, says underfunding has led to Northland having a doctor shortage. Photo \/ NZME<\/p>\n

While it was a good step to recognise health needs, the funding increase was not nearly enough to address the need<\/a>, Cunningham said.<\/p>\n

In 2022, a report by independent organisation Sapere found a funding increase of $614m was needed to cover practices\u2019 losses<\/a>, and address unmet need of M\u0101ori, Pasifika and low-income patients.<\/p>\n

That now-outdated report shows how \u201cinsulting\u201d the Government\u2019s $120m is, Cunningham said.<\/p>\n

Since the data was used in the 2022 report, the ageing population has grown and CPI has increased significantly, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNorthland was, and remains, the region that needs the greatest funding correction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNorthland GPs work the hardest and earn the least, hence our workforce crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HealthHealth Minister Simeon Brown says the funding changes are a significant investment in general practice and better meet patient need. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n

Funding should consider ethnicity, Mahitahi Hauora says<\/p>\n

Northland\u2019s largest primary health organisation, Mahitahi Hauora<\/a>, was more diplomatic about the funding changes, calling them \u201ca step in the right direction\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMahitahi Hauora has long been advocating for a fairer capitation model that reflects all the factors that impact access to healthcare and outcomes for wh\u0101nau,\u201d partnership services manager Sandra Wilkinson said.<\/p>\n

It was disappointing that ethnicity was not included as a factor, as the data shows ethnicity can have a significant impact on health outcomes<\/a>, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, we do agree that the new funding package is a step in the right direction on a longer journey towards a fairer and more fit-for-purpose model.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be paying particularly close attention to the work around ensuring rural practices are given more adequate funding.\u201d<\/p>\n

The funding package was broadly supported by General Practice New Zealand, which said it was a significant investment in primary care and a step towards addressing long-standing underfunding.<\/p>\n

Chairman Dr Bryan Betty<\/a> said the package represented progress in a challenging fiscal environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe acknowledge this is a substantial investment in general practice at a time when there are significant pressures across the health system.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether with last year\u2019s increase in funding, it begins to address the historic underfunding of general practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Denise Piper is a news reporter<\/a> for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Clinics cannot increase patient fees this year but will receive extra funding for improved results on immunisations, cancer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492177,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[3255,16415,7061,23966,2082,738,134,527,5345,60701,246637,9812,111,139,1067,69,22367,312,666,1533],"class_list":["post-492176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-address","tag-clinics","tag-doctor","tag-enough","tag-for","tag-funding","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-increase","tag-insulting","tag-longunderfunded","tag-needs","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-northland","tag-nz","tag-package","tag-says","tag-struggling","tag-will"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}