Hefty holiday healthcare charge irks patients

Some emergency medical clinics are charging patients up to 60 per cent extra for treatment on a public holiday.

The move has raised the ire of patients, who say they are being forced to choose between paying a sometimes hefty surcharge or clogging up a hospital emergency room.

Auckland resident Anthony Trenwith was annoyed to be charged an extra $35 when he went to the Ascot Accident & Medical Clinic on January 3 with shingles. "I wasn't exactly thrilled but I felt I didn't have much of a choice but to pay it."

Dr Alistair Sullivan, general manager of the White Cross clinics in Auckland and Whangarei, which includes the Ascot clinic, said the clinics had a long-standing policy of charging extra for after-hours treatment and that had been extended after changes to the Holidays Act.

To see a doctor in the middle of the night would cost more than a visit on Monday to Friday because staff had to be paid more, he said.

Surcharges at the White Cross clinics varied, but were around $25 for children and $35 for adults.

That means almost 40 per cent of Mr Trenwith's $90 bill was a public holiday levy. Changes to the Holidays Act in 2004 made workers entitled to time-and-a-half and a day in lieu on public holidays. That led many restaurants and cafes to impose an extra fee on those days to cover increased staffing costs.

A Herald-DigiPoll survey of 800 last month showed 48.7 per cent of people felt it reasonable for restaurants and cafes to levy a public holiday surcharge, while 47.6 per cent found it unreasonable.

Dr Peter Foley, of the NZ Medical Association's GP Council, was not surprised many emergency centres had also resorted to a public holiday surcharge. "Someone must bear the cost, either the Government or the patient."

The trend began when a Lower Hutt centre introduced a $15 surcharge over Easter 2004.

The White Cross group shut all but two of its nine Auckland clinics last Labour Weekend to avoid a financial loss. After discussions with Auckland District Health Board, it kept five open these holidays to prevent an increased burden on the public hospital system.

Spokeswoman for the Board, Rachel Hughes, said all involved were working on a "longer-term co-operative approach".

Dr William Kim of the Takanini and Counties Care A&M Clinics - which charge $5-$10 more on weekends and holidays - said the surcharge showed the difference between centres run on a business model and others that were more philanthropic.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY