Friday was a good day at Henderson's Whitecross 24-hour clinic.
The clinical director, Dr Simon Vari, says on that particular muggy Auckland Friday, it's just a two and a half hour wait to be seen.
"When they walk in the door, usually we tell people it's going to be about four hours," he said.
"We get little runs of people who arrive during the day. It goes all the way into the night because we're 24-hour. We have one doctor overnight, so they might start the shift with 35 people waiting.
"You're not gunna get through that – it’s impossible."
His practice belongs to GenPro, a group of 1000 GP practices. Its leaders say primary care is teetering - related directly to doctor and nurse shortages and a lack of Government funding.
The workforce shortages mean its practices are restricting enrolments, reducing opening hours and have completely withdrawn some services.
Patients at 45% of GenPro practices – which claims to serve 2.5 million Kiwis – are having to wait a week or more for a routine consultation.
Dr Gerald Young says GenPro wants the Government to commit to a nine-point plan to address the sector's problems. That plan, along with an open letter to Health Minister Andrew Little, was released this evening.
He says primary doctor complaints have been well-documented, but there never seems to be a plan to fix those medical issues.
"The record is stuck because the model is broken," Young said.
"I'm surprised that not every practice in NZ is not going through a fees review. I don't know how some practices will survive."
Little told 1News it is well aware of the problems faced by the sector.
"When you have after-hours clinics reducing their hours because they can't get the cover, that you've got GP clinics that are closing their rolls cause they can't take any patient – those things are real."
Cabinet had considered a plan to address pay parity issues for GP nurses and Little said he was willing to take another look at the capitation funding model.
"I think there is grounds to have a good look here. There's been a bit of a technical review which was very focused on the equity considerations.
"But the other comment I get from doctors is they're spending a lot more time with a lot of their patients, particularly older patients, and the funding regime doesn't fit with that."
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