Helpline services for smokers, gamblers and other groups are being merged into a new national "telehealth" service - possibly with a simple 111-style number.
The Ministry of Health is expected to issue a request for proposals for the new service in the next few days to integrate the current dedicated lines for smoking, gambling, alcohol, drugs, depression and poisons with the existing Healthline, where registered nurses provide free phone advice on any health condition.
The new system is expected to cut health costs by diverting more people to general practitioners, or helping them to help themselves, rather than calling an ambulance or turning up at hospital emergency departments.
But the non-government agencies that run the existing helplines are worried that the upheaval could add an extra step before callers reach the specialist services they need.
It also threatens the jobs of the existing 50 to 60 staff at Lifeline in Auckland that operate the depression and gambling helplines, 59 at Quitline in Wellington, 15 at the alcohol and drug line in Christchurch and eight at the National Poisons Centre in Dunedin.
