Rotorua man Marc Osborne was staying in Pāpāmoa for a weekend in August when he experienced a terrible toothache in the middle of the night. He called Healthline and they were able to assess him over the phone and prescribe him medication which he could collect from a Pāpāmoa pharmacy first thing the next morning. Photo / Andrew Warner
Marc Osborne contemplated using pliers to yank out a throbbing tooth after painkillers failed to dull the excruciating pain.
The Rotorua man, who was staying in Pāpāmoa, said he had a “massive headache” and his throat and mouth were swelling after developing a “really bad” toothache in the middle of the nightin August.
Osborne had been taking painkillers but had “reached my limit”.
“In those moments, I was thinking, ‘I need to get some pliers and pull this tooth out … because I just wanted relief from it’.”
Instead, about 1am, the 61-year-old called Healthline and got the help he needed from home.
His story comes as hybrid healthcare services combining telehealth – healthcare delivered via digital technology – and in-person care are touted as potential solutions to easing pressure on emergency departments and other urgent care centres.
In Pāpāmoa, a new medical clinic - Consult365 Pāpāmoa - will open in January with a “hybrid” model featuring doctors, nurse practitioners and paramedics rostered on-site, supported 24/7 by doctors and emergency department consultants via telehealth.
Osborne said he received efficient care from Healthline, a Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand-funded telehealth service available 24/7 for free health advice.
A triage nurse assessed him and then Osborne spoke to the on-duty Healthline doctor, who prescribed him codeine and an antibiotic to pick up at 9am from a Pāpāmoa pharmacy, and advised taking Paracetamol in the meantime.
The doctor also referred him to an emergency dentist in Tauranga.
Osborne said he picked up his prescription medication and got a dentist appointment that afternoon. His pain settled after taking antibiotics.
Healthline followed up with him three times after the initial consult and he said the service was “brilliant”.
Marc Osborne said Healthline prescribed him antibiotics and pain medication over the phone which he could pick up in the morning from a pharmacy. Photo / Andrew Warner
He said there was “so much demand” for urgent primary care, and described the new 24-hour Pāpāmoa clinic’s hybrid model as “innovative”.
“Anything that’s able to do the same thing – do a triage, recommendations, referrals, I’m all for it.”
Will we see more ‘hybrid’ clinics?
Tauranga GP and Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners’ medical director Dr Luke Bradford said there was a “definite need” for increased access to urgent care.
“We’ve got a massively growing population - Pāpāmoa has grown hugely and spread geographically and we’ve got limited hours to accident and healthcare over here [in Tauranga] and we don’t want to be driving people through ED [emergency department] who don’t need to be in ED.”
He described the hybrid model of in-person and telehealth services that would be used in the 24/7 Pāpāmoa clinic as “interesting and probably useful”.
“I think nationally, we will see more of these options.”
Tauranga GP and Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners’ medical director Dr Luke Bradford. Photo / Mead Norton
General Practice NZ chairman Dr Bryan Betty said it anticipated seeing similar “hybrid” models adopted by more general practices, urgent care and after-hour clinic providers nationwide.
Betty said it supported using telehealth services for a range of illnesses, injuries and medical concerns.
“It is particularly useful where workforce constraints would otherwise impact the ability to safely deliver services for communities, which we often see in more rural and remote places.”
Te Puke grandmother Robyn Blackledge said telehealth services were “the next best thing” to seeing a doctor in person.
Blackledge said she had travelled to Tauranga Hospital and 2nd Ave Accident and HealthCare this year for after-hours care, and the latter had been “so busy”.
A new rural after-hours telehealth service is now available, improving access to primary healthcare for almost 900,000 New Zealanders, a joint media release from Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand, Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority and Ka Ora Telecare said.
People could call Ka Ora directly or be referred by their healthcare provider. They would be triaged by nurses and kaiāwhina (assistants) and could be referred to a doctor.
Te Whatu Ora national clinical director of primary and community care Dr Sarah Clarke said the service was a “real step forward” for people living in isolated communities to access after-hours care.
“We know that our rural healthcare providers have been under pressure due to workforce shortages with staffing after-hours rosters only adding to that pressure, so this is a way we can offer additional capacity and continuity of care to providers and their patients to improve the wellbeing of our rural communities.”
The service was subsidised by Te Whatu Ora but a patient co-payment would be charged for consultations with a doctor.
