KEY POINTS:
One of Auckland's few 24-hour accident and medical clinics wants to quit a deal that controls how much it can charge patients after hours.
The Auckland District Health Board agreed last November to fund the White Cross Ascot A&M in Greenlane to stay open from 10pm to 8am and not increase fees. The board is giving White Cross $650,000 under the fixed-term deal that runs until the end of the year.
A board paper says White Cross wants to end the arrangement next month "as they want to increase co-payment levels across all their clinics".
A White Cross general manager, Alistair Sullivan, said yesterday: "The level of funding is inadequate moving forward for us to keep that co-payment freeze in place."
The board paper says officials will talk with other interested parties about other ways of providing A&M services after hours during the week, at weekends and on public holidays.
The paper also discloses that the Ministry of Health plans to give the 21 health boards $9 million a year for after-hours care, of which Auckland DHB anticipates receiving around $900,000.
The ministry said it wanted to send the money as soon as possible for use in improving access to after-hours primary care.
Medical Association GP council chairman Dr Mark Peterson said funding for after-hours care was far too little. The Rural GP Network had indicated $42 million was needed for rural after-hours care alone.
The Auckland DHB's general manager of planning and funding, Denis Jury, said the ministry's rules for the $9 million had not yet been spelled out, but his board would like to spend it on bringing after-hours fees into line with week-day charges - or perhaps slightly higher, to avoid inadvertently encouraging people to go to the doctor at night.
White Cross also has arrangements with primary health organisations Tamaki Healthcare and Auckland PHO to provide their enrollees with lower-priced after-hours care at all the A&M group's clinics.
For Tamaki enrollees, the fees are $5 for under-6s, $25 for those aged 6-17, and $35 for adults. White Cross Ascot's general after-hours fees range from $20 for under-6s to $60 for adult community service card holders. The ministry considers a fee of more than $15 for casual after-hours consultations for under-6s to be high.
Tamaki operations manager Rachel Morris said its low-cost after-hours care was popular and important for its patient group, which had high needs and a high proportion of children.
NIGHT & WEEKEND FEES
* White Cross Ascot A&M fees for a medical consultation after 7pm or at weekends:
* Under 6-year-olds: $20 (with or without community services card).
* 6-17: $55, or $50 with card.
* Adults: $75, or $60 with card.
* Public holiday fees are higher; weekday fees and after-hours fees for enrollees of certain primary health organisations are lower.
