Hawke's Bay GP: Practices will 'wither and die' because of DHB's 'half-baked thinking'

The DHB says it is looking forward to seeing GPs work alongside new youth health providers ''to better meet the needs of rangatahi of our rohe''.

A Hawke's Bay GP says "short term, half-baked thinking" from Hawke's Bay DHB around youth health will cause GP practices to "wither and die".

The DHB has responded by saying it is looking forward to seeing GPs work alongside new youth health providers ''to better meet the needs of rangatahi of our rohe''.

Tamatea GP David Rodgers has spoken out after the DHB revealed a new Maori-focused youth health service would provide free care for under 24s, but funding for GPs to provide free care for 14-17-year-olds has stopped.

The new youth health collective Te Kahui Waiora is in a transitional period with full services due to be operational by July 1.

Across five providers, Te Kahui Wairoa offers:

- Free access to services that provide support for sexual health, mental health and addictions, and basic youth healthcare and treatment for under 24s.

- Free access to a general practitioner or nurse practitioner as required by rangatahi.

- Free prescriptions for under 24s.

The DHB said this week the changes had been clearly communicated to GPs.

However, Rodgers said ''they never told us anything'' and believed the new system would separate youth from their family GPs and undermine the traditional role of general practices in the community.

Rodgers said he had been aware of proposals to change youth health 'over many years', and funding cuts - but not specific detail about the new youth services.

"I'm chair of the local faculty of the college of GPs, and I found out about this from Facebook.

"Short-term, half-baked thinking from Hawke's Bay DHB will mean that GP practices that have been active in their communities for generations will wither and die."

In response to Rodgers' criticism, Emma Foster, executive director planning and funding, said the DHB values and appreciates the mahi "that general practices do in our community and looks forward to seeing them work alongside the new providers to better meet the needs of rangatahi of our rohe''.

Foster says several letters were sent to GPs, starting in March 2021, and the change was flagged in the DHB's 2019/20 annual plan.

"The annual plan 2019/20 mentions the DHB reviewing and reconfiguring the free fees for 13 to 17-year-olds in general practice."

Rodgers questioned how the new system would provide the sort of care that GPs do.

General practice was about people, long term, through "all of the points through all of the lives of your whole family, wherever you need medical help", Rodgers said.

"That's the magic, that's where we add value. So how is Hawke's Bay DHB's new system going to provide that?

"How are they going to look after young people while at the same time separating them from the care for their families?''

Clarification: An earlier version of this story stated Dr Rodgers had been told verbally of the changes. Dr Rodgers was advised of funding changes verbally but not the mode of the new service provision.