Patient, 94, hit with $80 bill

Photo / Thinkstock

A 94-year-old woman was charged more than $80 to see a GP on Good Friday, thanks to a public holiday surcharge at an emergency clinic.

When Alma Costall fell ill at home in Birkenhead, on Auckland's North Shore, her daughter Ann Black took her to the Accident and Medical clinic Shore Care at Takapuna.

"They charged 20 per cent extra because it was a public holiday," Black said. "Even with my mother's Community Services Card it cost us $80-something.

"We had no choice. We had to pay it or wait at the hospital."

Most after-hours medical centres charge a base fee for a consultation during the week, which can more than double on evenings and weekends.

Now, many are imposing an additional surcharge on public holidays - and that number is increasing. Some charge nearly $100 for a consultation.

On Good Friday, Costall needed treatment but was not ill enough to justify being rushed through North Shore Hospital's Emergency Department. "She had a recurring infection," her daughter said.

Once before, when Costall had cut her head, she was told she faced a six-hour wait at the hospital.

This time they went straight to Shore Care - but were aghast at the price.

"It is good to have the facility but if you didn't have the money what do you do?" said Black.

Health Minister Tony Ryall said the Government was concerned about after-hours access in Auckland.

DHBs and primary care providers were developing plans to provide "affordable and more accessible alternatives to hospital emergency departments".

But Shore Care chief executive Mary Gordon said the clinic had to charge extra to cover costs.

"We have to pay our staff a lot more than 20 per cent. It helps cover the cost of giving them time-and-a-half and a day in lieu, otherwise we would have to close," she said.

White Cross chief executive Alistair Sullivan said his nine Accident and Medical clinics charged more on public holidays to cover the extra staff costs.

The auditor-general said last year that DHBs needed to do more to reduce cost barriers to after-hours care, prompting DHBs and GPs to set up a working group. Sullivan, who is a member, said he expected the working group to find a way to subsidise some clinics.