A Dunedin GP has set up a new clinic offering $15 appointments to support an increasing number of patients who cannot afford standard fees.
Dr Adrian Hindes has dozens of enrolments at Dunedin Community Health since opening a few days ago and is operating under a very low-cost access (VLCA) funding model which allows for slightly more government funding than typical capitation.
However, he is still running at a loss.
Hindes worked with a community support medical centre for several years and said there has “always been need” for low-cost clinics serving “the most needy people” in Dunedin.
“It’s been a model that’s revolved around volunteers such as myself providing medical services for free.”
The difficulty around operating under the VLCA model has been a shortage of patients, he said.
“We can’t afford to have a free clinic, we do rely on patient fees, about 30-35% of our income is reliant on patient fees, if we don’t have that we can’t afford to pay staff and run the service.”
Under the VLCA model, the government provides around 20% extra in capitation funding, which is based on the numbers of those enrolled in the general practice.
“In exchange for that, we need to keep our fees low, no more than $19.50.”
Hindes said there has not been a VLCA clinic in north Dunedin since the retirement of the previous GP who led it two years ago.
The other main low-cost GP in Dunedin was Te Kāika Wellbeing Hub in the south of the city, with around 5000 patients on its books.
“There’s clearly a need for a VLCA type model and some kind of system where healthcare is a lot more accessible,” he said.
