Pinnacle strongly disagrees with claims by Te Whatu Ora at a Building the Future of Health webinar series on Tuesday 7 May that up to 50 per cent of general practice work could be done by telehealth.

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.

Justin Butcher, Pinnacle CEO, talks about the funding for pre-call and recall admissions for general practice, and provides an update on the PSAAP and upcoming negotiations

On 1 October 2023 Pinnacle CE Justin Butcher joined Pinnacle colleagues, kaumātua, and board and Māori governance rōpū members, in Rōtorua to officially gift one of our practices, Ōwhata Medical Centre, to Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Pikiao. Read Justin's thoughts on this partnership here.

We're thrilled to announce Hinetu Kallon Nikora, a patient service representative in our Patient Access Centre (PAC), as the inaugural recipient of Kia Puāwai, Pinnacle’s Māori Education Fund.

All point of care ultrasound (POCUS) users are encouraged to attend Pinnacle’s monthly POCUS virtual peer group session led by Dr Michael Miller.  

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.

We received 40 responses to our survey on the new government’s 100-day action plan, and the repeal of SERPA and Smokefree 2025 legislation. Thank you to everyone who took time to respond. While 40 is not a large amount given the number of general practice staff across the network, the feedback does align with what we are hearing directly from practices, and gives us a good understanding of where our advocacy efforts need to be.

We are excited to announce that following your nomination and votes, Dr Tamatoa Blaiklock from Hamilton East Medical Centre has accepted a position on the Pinnacle Incorporated executive committee starting February 2024.

Ngā mihi nui to everyone who completed the Pinnacle General Practice Workforce Survey 2023. We’re pleased to let you know the reports are now published.