It has been a tough year for health, and primary care in particular, but we are pleased to have identified opportunities to improve the way we fund our practices.

The summertime locum grant was established to help ease the pressure some rural practices face during the peak holiday season such as an influx of patients and the increased costs in attracting and accommodating locums during these peak periods. 

With the annual increase in funding for general practices falling well short of expectations, it’s difficult not to be cynical about the future of primary healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand.

On 30 May 2024 the coalition government delivered Budget '24, allocating around $2.1b to primary and community care. While any additional investment in primary care is welcome, the devil of this budget will be in the detail.

Pinnacle is committed to supporting education opportunities for practice managers. We have some funding available to support practices to take part in the annual PMAANZ conference in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland 12-14 September 2024.

From 1 July 2024, Pinnacle is changing the focus of the quality plan to support capacity and capability building in general practice. There will also be a change to how quality plan funds are allocated. This funding is not attached to targets, and will enable you to build capacity.

This month Te Whatu Ora begins implementing targeted investment for primary care to help address under-funding for Māori and Pacific providers and enable them to continue delivering services more equitably for Māori and Pacific populations.

Thinking about increasing your practice patient fees? We are here to help.

I’m sure by now many of you have already read headlines anywhere from NZ Doctor to Stuff.co.nz regarding the governments offer of 3 per cent increase in capitation funding – against a backdrop of inflation levels of 6.9 per cent.

While the dollars are certainly promised in this record pledge to New Zealand’s health system, Justin Butcher, Pinnacle acting chief executive, isn’t breathing a full sigh of relief just yet.