Labour’s Dr Ayesha Verrall is adamant that her fees-free GP policy will not overwhelm clinics, despite featuring no commitment to fund the training of more doctors.
The policy has faced sustained criticism from Health Minister Simeon Brown, who says the free visits would increase demand on GP clinics without any plan to increase the number of doctors.
“Right now, the biggest challenge facing patients is simply being able to get an appointment in the first place,” he said.
This is correct, I’ve just checked with my GP clinic, and no appointments for two weeks for my GP.
In a sit-down with The Post, Verrall said cutting paperwork for doctors through AI and her plans to introduce a triaging system would free up 4.5 million appointments overall.
This is magical thinking. There is no actual specific plan, just a belief akin to we will build 100,000 homes.
Labour’s modelling anticipated two million more appointments a year once the scheme was fully rolled out after Budget 2028 ‒ increasing the number of appointments from 24 million to 26 million.
We have 5,600 GPs so two million more appointments would need an extra 430 GPs by Labour’s own numbers.
Instead of patients booking their appointments through a first come, first serve system, a nationwide triage system would see patients assessed over the phone to determine the level of care they need and when.
Sounds like centralised rationing. Rather than being able to decide for yourself if you see a GP, you will need to go through the Ministry of Health!!
Verrall said this system meant many patients would not need to see the doctor at all, and instead be referred to a pharmacist or online resources on the Healthify website to manage symptoms
So the phone operator will decide whether or not you can see a GP, and may just tell you to go read a website instead!!
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders
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