A long-serving Ōtara medical clinic has begun offering round-the-clock urgent care, a move health leaders say will improve access for South Auckland families and help ease pressure on Middlemore Hospital’s emergency department.
By Taelegalolo'u Mary Afemata of Local Democracy Reporting
The 24/7 service, launched on Monday, January 19 at the Watford Rd clinic, marks the first time overnight urgent care has been available at the site, addressing long-standing gaps in after-hours healthcare access across South Auckland.
Dr Sivakumar Vallipuram, a clinic director and urgent care physician who joined Local Doctors in 2002, said the service was long overdue.
"We feel that it should have been done a long, long time ago. But finally, we achieved this for our community."
Dr Uruba Khalil, also a director and doctor at Local Doctors who has worked at the clinic since 1998, said staff made the decision after seeing ongoing pressure on hospital services.
"When you see the discharge letters from the hospital for flu and colds, you feel like the patient had a long night, and you feel like it’s a waste of resources when we could have done that during the night," Khalil said.
She said staff often stayed well beyond the clinic's previous 11pm closing time because they did not turn patients away.
"Sometimes we will stay till one in the morning," she said. "Now there is another team that will come and take over and help us."
The doctors said they regularly saw patients return from Middlemore Hospital after waiting hours in the emergency department.
"They come back from the ED because they waited six to seven hours. No one saw them," she said.
Dr Selva Ponnampalam, who has worked at the clinic since 2003, said discharge summaries showed the same pattern.
"We get the discharge summaries, waited for long and left without seeing the doctor," Ponnampalam said. "So that won’t happen. They can come here."
Clinicians also pointed to cost and transport barriers that pushed some patients towards hospital emergency departments.
"Sometimes some people don’t have $5 for petrol or parking to go to Middlemore Hospital," Khalil said. "Here, it is closer."
Vallipuram said after-hours fees would remain unchanged, and the clinic would accept walk-in patients, including those who were not enrolled.
"Yes, anyone can come, even the casual patients, visitors, they are all welcome," he said.
'Care closer to home'
Health Minister Simeon Brown said the opening addressed a long-standing service gap, with South Auckland the only part of Auckland without a 24/7 urgent after-hours care service since around 2020.
"This is about care closer to home, more options for people, and a close partnership with Middlemore Hospital to take pressure off the emergency department."
He said last year’s Budget set aside funding to expand urgent after-hours services nationwide, with Counties Manukau prioritised due to population size and demand. Health New Zealand selected the Ōtara site through a procurement process.
Brown said officials would assess the service by monitoring patient numbers and demand.
"We’ll be looking at the numbers coming through and how many people are being seen," he said.
Addressing affordability, Brown said children under 14 will be treated free of charge, and people with community services cards receive additional subsidies.
Mark Vella, Total Healthcare's CEO, said cost differences between hospital and community care showed why lower-acuity patients should be treated outside emergency departments.
"In 2014 it cost around $375 for every person that walks into ED," Vella said.
Reflecting the level of need
Willie Ropata, chairman of the Total Healthcare Board, said the service reflected the level of need in the Ōtara community.
"They deserve to be cared for, acknowledged, and recognised through initiatives [like this]. To be acknowledged as a high-needs community that must be served as well as possible is something we’re absolutely excited about on behalf of the community," Ropata said.
Apulu Reece Autagavaia, Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board member, welcomed the opening of the clinic but said it did not address deeper structural issues in the health system.
"We have seen this government cut funding to many social services, including in health," Apulu said. "So it is welcome news to see the Local Doctors in Ōtara opening 24/7 urgent care."
He said many residents struggled to access GP appointments, sometimes waiting weeks, due to limited hours and difficulty taking time off work.
"Our people struggle to find available doctor appointments, sometimes having to wait weeks," he said.
Apulu believed the health system faced fundamental structural issues that the Government had not addressed.
He said two major issues were an ageing GP workforce and the 15-minute capitation model.
"GP clinics don't have enough younger doctors coming through, with many clinics predicted to close in the coming years, and 15-minute consultations are often too short for doctors to delve into the health issues of patients in a community with high complex health needs."
"So this 24/7 urgent care clinic is much needed, but the government needs to do more,” Apulu said.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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