Public support for after hours GP service in Porirua

Public meeting on future of Kenepuru A&M service, 6 October Mungavin Hall

The future of the after-hours Accident and Medical Clinic at Kenepuru Community Hospital has been under threat for more than a year. When I worked at Te Whatu Ora Capital and Coast last year, it was one of our bigger issues – how to ensure we could keep 24/7 services available for the whole Porirua community; and for people up the Kāpiti Coast who would use it.

The alternative to the Kenepuru A&M clinic was people going to Hutt Hospital or Wellington Hospital EDs, which puts more pressure on them to treat people who would probably be fine going to their GP (If they have one).

The difficulty has been employing enough suitably trained General Practitioners (GPs), i.e. those with extra emergency medicine training and qualifications who are prepared to regularly work the overnight shifts. The rostering arrangement is complicated and shared between Te Whatu Ora doctors, GPs from the PHO and others from the private group of GPs. It’s not straightforward, and suffers from the same pressures other hospitals and primary care do; not enough suitably qualified staff to provide the 24/7 service we need and expect.

Porirua is a high-deprivation area in the country. There are plenty of well-off people living here, but lots of people who aren’t and who don’t have access to primary care when they need it. However, it doesn’t matter how much money you have; when you need a doctor, you need a doctor.

Google Map showing Mungavin Hall location

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