Shorecare Welcomes Initial Steps Towards Improved Urgent Care Funding — But More Is Needed

Shorecare acknowledges the Government’s announcement on the 18th of May as a positive first step toward addressing the chronic underfunding of urgent care services — an essential move if we are to genuinely reduce pressure on our emergency departments. The simple reality is this: emergency department wait time targets cannot be achieved without 24/7 urgent care clinics operating as true partners in the healthcare system.

While this funding announcement is encouraging, it is largely focused on areas outside Auckland and fails to address the significant shortfall in current funding models. Bodies such as ACC continue to offer only minimal increases — just 0.8% this year— a figure that falls well short of what’s needed to keep clinics viable.

There is also an element of irony in the announcement of funding for a clinic in Counties Manukau, given that Health New Zealand previously withdrew urgent care funding from East Care in Botany — despite strong advocacy in 2021 from local MPs, including the now-Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Pakuranga MP Simeon Brown, who at the time described Auckland’s urgent care network as a “mishmash of services.”

Shorecare hopes this latest announcement signals the beginning of a more coherent, sustainable funding strategy for urgent care services across the country. Without this, New Zealand will continue to see clinic closures, increasing co-payments and widening gaps in care.

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