By RNZ
A struggling GP practice was allegedly told by a Health New Zealand-Te Whatu Ora committee to set up a cafe inside the clinic to bring in extra cash.
In September, General Practice New Zealand surveyed primary health organisations (PHOs) that deliver GP services, with about 76% of them responding.
The results made for stark reading. More than 60% of PHOs had clinics in their network facing closures, 61% were reducing services, and 100% were restricting patient access in some way.
Among the reasons given were financial pressures and issues of burnout and retention with GPs.