Opposition health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall needs to be concerned more about what taxpayers are getting for the government’s health spending than with trying to spotlight the breaking of promises that were not made.
She is raising questions about the digital service launched by the government last year. So far so good.
The service was designed “to provide all New Zealanders with access to video consultations with New Zealand-registered clinicians, such as GPs and Nurse Practitioners, for urgent problems 24 hours a day, seven days a week”.
When it was launched, we were told in a government fact sheet it will cost $164.620 million over five years: $143.499 million in operating costs and $21.121 million in capital costs.
The fact sheet spelled out the case for spending that money.
Expected benefits:
People who are not currently enrolled with a primary care provider, or who can’t get a timely appointment, or need to speak to a doctor after-hours will be able to get the care they need, when they need it.
Over time, people will have more control over the health care experiences and it will fit better in their lives. Patient data will be better joined up across the health system.
Providing better and faster access to primary care helps keep people well and reduce the pressure on hospitals, and particularly emergency departments.
People will be able to gain expert clinical advice more quickly and better manage their own health care, reducing the impact of health conditions.
The fact sheet noted that one in four adults (25.7%) and one in five children (18.5%) have reported that ‘time taken to get an appointment was too long’ as a barrier to visiting the GP.
Those figures came from the latest New Zealand Health Survey at that time.
This was higher than the previous year (21.2% for adults and 14.8% for children).
It equates to an estimated one million people struggling to access a GP appointment,
Among the critical facts and figures
The service was designed “to provide all New Zealanders with access to video consultations with New Zealand-registered clinicians, such as GPs and Nurse Practitioners, for urgent problems 24 hours a day, seven days a week”.
When it was launched, we were told in a government fact sheet it will cost $164.620 million over five years: $143.499 million in operating costs and $21.121 million in capital costs.
The fact sheet spelled out the case for spending that money.
Expected benefits:
People who are not currently enrolled with a primary care provider, or who can’t get a timely appointment, or need to speak to a doctor after-hours will be able to get the care they need, when they need it.
Over time, people will have more control over the health care experiences and it will fit better in their lives. Patient data will be better joined up across the health system.
Providing better and faster access to primary care helps keep people well and reduce the pressure on hospitals, and particularly emergency departments.
People will be able to gain expert clinical advice more quickly and better manage their own health care, reducing the impact of health conditions.
The fact sheet noted that one in four adults (25.7%) and one in five children (18.5%) have reported that ‘time taken to get an appointment was too long’ as a barrier to visiting the GP.
Those figures came from the latest New Zealand Health Survey at that time.
This was higher than the previous year (21.2% for adults and 14.8% for children).
It equates to an estimated one million people struggling to access a GP appointment,
Among the critical facts and figures
- It is estimated up to 1 million New Zealanders may use the service in a year.
The initial launch was in the middle of 2025, with more services becoming available offered over time.
So how well is this dose of virtual healthcare going down?
In Parliament last Thursday, Verrall set out to get some answers. She asked:
How many people have had a GP consult through the Government’s 24/7 online GP service since it was launched in July 2025?
Hon MATT DOOCEY (Associate Minister of Health) (14:40) on behalf of the Minister of Health: I’m advised that, of 22 February 2026, there’s been 70,754 funded consultations, for 56,498 individual users, provided by the online GP service. That means that tens of thousands of Kiwis have received care they otherwise could not have accessed, making a real difference in those people’s lives.
Verrall followed up:
How does that compare to the Government’s original claim that it would provide care to 1 million New Zealanders each year?
Doocey did not challenge the use of the word “claim”. He said the service was never meant to be a silver bullet.
It was to complement our primary care services. We announced it six months ago, and we’re looking to scale it up. We want to welcome those eight providers that are delivering care 24/7. That’s 60,000 Kiwis who have had extra access to primary care.
But Verrall was fixed on the notion that the government had promised 1 million people would use the service in a year.
And New Zealand First’s Shane Jones was fixed on sharing his soubriquet for the Labour MP.
Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall: What level can New Zealanders expect the service to be scaled to in the coming year?
Hon MATT DOOCEY: We are working with providers, and we will accept more providers in time. But I’d just like—
Hon Shane Jones: Feral Verrall!
Hon MATT DOOCEY: —to point out that, when we came into Government, only 75 percent of Kiwis could access their GP. That’s now gone up to 79.5 percent. Things are trending in the right direction.
Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall: Is it correct that, even if the service hits 100,000 users this year, it will only be operating at a 10th of the volumes that were originally promised?
Hon MATT DOOCEY: I refute that question. It was never—
Hon Shane Jones: Feral, feral!
Hon MATT DOOCEY: —promised. This was a service that was always about complementing GP practices. On this side of the House, we believe people should have choice, and we have given them choice to access online 24/7 care. It won’t be for everyone, but for those who choose to do it, they can access it in real time.
PoO emailed Verrall to ask for the source of her 1 million.
A press secretary responded, saying she was basing that on the Fact Sheet that the Ministry of Health has on this service: https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/2025-03/factsheet-digital-access-24-7-primary-care.docx#:~:text=%E2%80%A2%20One%20in%20four%20adults,latest%20New%20Zealand%20Health%20Survey.
PoO does not know if Verrall read the fact sheet again, but in Parliament yesterday she was back on the case.
Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL (Labour) (15:11) to the Minister of Health: Is the Government’s 24/7 online GP service on track to reach one million patients a year; if not, why not?
Hon SIMEON BROWN (Minister of Health) (15:11): The member opposite appears to be confused. There is not and has never been a target for X number of patients being seen through this service. Since the Online GP Care service was introduced, tens of thousands of New Zealanders have received care they otherwise could not have accessed—making a real difference to patients’ lives. The figure of 1 million, which the member is referring to, was not a projected usage target; it relates to survey findings for access to primary care, not to any target for the Online GP Care service. The Government introduced services like this to work alongside our wider primary care plan, to ensure that patients can get the care they need when and where they need it. Uptake of this service will only continue to grow, and I encourage the member to support it.
Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall: When will the service reach 1 million users a year, as promised in the fact sheet distributed in the launch?
Hon SIMEON BROWN: As I said in the answer to my primary question: the figure of 1 million, which the member is referring to, was not a projected usage target; it relates to survey findings about access to primary care—not to any target for the online GP care service. Ultimately, usage will continue to grow, and we encourage the member to promote it.
Our advice to Ayesha Verrall is to not give up on this one.
But she should stick to the political points to be scored from the minister’s numbers rather than on estimates, projections or promises.
The issue is whether 70,754 consultations in six months is a good return on the $143.499 million spending earmarked over five years. And how much is that figure likely to grow to justify the spending.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
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