Budget 2025 Misses Opportunity To Give Primary Care A Leading Role In Addressing And Improving Healthcare In Aotearoa

The 2025 Budget has missed an important opportunity to recognise the value that the general practice and primary care workforce can have on improving the health outcomes of New Zealanders.

The bulk of healthcare happens in the community by specialist GPs and primary care teams, not in the hospitals. Our workforce provides sustainable and patient-focused care that is cost effective and saves the sector money in the long-term.

The lack of any immediate funding for general practice and primary care in the Budget announcement to implement solutions that will alleviate pressures both on our workforce and in hospitals and EDs will be felt by all New Zealanders who access our services.

College Medical Director Dr Luke Bradford says, "The decision to extend prescription lengths from three- to 12-months is not something that the College sees as beneficial to improving health outcomes and health equity.

"During the consultation process, the College supported a six-month prescription length for medically stable patients, and we reiterate that this is dependent on clinical suitability and discretion as well as consideration of the work that needs to be done by general practice teams to ensure that a patient remains monitored and safe on their prescribed medications.

"The enhanced capitation funding commitment announced recently is still light on details and we await further information on both what will be required to get this funding and if this will result in an annual uplift in current capitation funding. We have, for many years, been significantly underfunded for the work that we do and look forward to receiving details on this Budget promise."

College Chief Executive Toby Beaglehole says, "The College has welcomed recent announcements to improve access to GPs, rural hospital and primary care services as well as growing and retaining the workforce. What is missing is the funding to make this a reality such as a fully funded GP training programme, pay parity for primary care nurses and supporting current GPs who train the next generation.

"Seeing the bulk of health funding again being put into secondary or hospital-based care, instead of reprioritised into primary care is frustrating, given the sheer volume of care that general practice and primary care teams provide to New Zealand’s communities."

Read the pre-Budget opinion editorial published in the NZ Herald from College President Dr Samantha Murton and Medical Director Dr Luke Bradford highlighting why investing in general practice and primary care is essential if we want to have healthy and thriving communities: https://www.rnzcgp.org.nz/news/college/opinion-we-dont-need-to-create-a-new-health-service-we-need-to-invest-in-the-current-one/ 

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