1 JULY 2015

Roll Out of New Zealand First Policy for Free GP Visits Welcomed

New Zealand First welcomes the free GP visits for under-13 year olds being introduced today, but why were families made to wait over a year?

“This was a Budget promise from May last year, stolen from New Zealand First policy, that should have been introduced immediately,” says New Zealand First Leader and Member of Parliament for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“Northland District Health Board saw the good sense in the policy, financially backed it themselves, along with Te Tai Tokerau and Manaia Primary Health Organisations, and introduced it on October 1 last year. It is now working on getting the benefit to all children.

“The under-six free GP visits were a New Zealand First initiative in 1997 and New Zealand First had been advocating to extend this to primary school children.

“When National realised Budget 2014 was lacking any child-friendly policy it had no qualms in stealing our policy to benefit 400,000 school children.

“It is a strong policy and will be a saving to the health budget by keeping children out of hospital.”

ENDS

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