Only 14% of GP owners support Labour's three free appointments policy - survey

A survey of 132 general practice owners shows only 14 percent support Labour's policy promising three free appointments.

GenPro, which says it represents more than 500 GP owners across Aotearoa, has published its results ahead of the election on Saturday.

• Read more about party promises here and what the health sector thinks of them here.

According to GenPro chair Dr Angus Chambers, GPs anticipated it would increase demand, and were concerned about their ability to meet it, considering the existing workforce shortages.

"We think it's a good idea to improve access [...] but feel that there's some significant risks that we'll be even more over-burdened than we are."

Labour's health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said in response Labour's plan also included measures to free up time for 4.5 million appointments, "including better telehealth and a digital innovation fund".

She noted GenPro itself supported a number of the measures Labour had proposed, and pointed to two other policies - low-interest loans to set up owner-operated, independent GPs, and an independent authority to determine funding - which were in-line with calls for better funding.

"Our policy is about making primary care more affordable while ensuring GP practices are properly funded. Independent pricing is central to that. It means funding will be based on the actual costs of running a practice, providing certainty for the long term and ensuring GP services are financially sustainable."

When asked which party they would vote for based solely on health policy, 42 percent of respondents to the GenPro survey chose the Opportunity Party, 19 percent said National, and 13 percent said ACT.

Labour and the Green Party each received eight percent, New Zealand First 0.8 percent, and 9.1 percent of respondents were undecided or didn't pick one.

"This isn't a prediction of the election result," said Chambers. "What it does provide is a useful indication of which health policies resonate with people running general practices."

GP funding front-of-mind for many

The strongest feedback in the poll was for the Opportunity Party proposal to increase the proportion of Health NZ funding spent on primary care, which was supported by 93 percent of respondents.

ACT's proposed $100 million annual increase in general practice funding was supported by 86 percent, while 71 percent backed streamlining registration processes for overseas-trained doctors.

Chambers said the results reflected the experience of a sector that had "endured several years of severe financial and workforce pressure but is now showing signs of stabilising".

Support for prevention, screening and primary care funding

Prevention remained important to GPs, following similar calls from around the sector for investment in primary care ahead of the Budget earlier this year.

National's proposal to lower the bowel screening age, free cervical screening, completing the extension of free breast screening to age 74 by 2029, and new lung and prostate cancer screening pilots were all well supported by GPs.

The Green Party's proposal for greater emphasis on prevention and community-based healthcare drew 80 percent support, while the same proportion backed New Zealand First's proposal to reduce administrative and compliance burdens on general practice.

Telehealth and innovation

Labour's proposed review of telehealth funding was supported by 77 percent, its digital innovation fund for primary care clinics by 71 percent, and low-interest loans to help younger doctors buy into general practices by 66 percent.

"Accessibility and affordability matter enormously, but they need to go hand in hand with investment in the capacity of general practice," Chambers said.

"Ultimately, patients need to be able to get an appointment. That requires a sustainable network of practices, enough doctors and nurses, and funding that reflects the cost of providing care."

Meanwhile, rural New Zealand is short 151 doctors, according to a new survey by the Rural Health Network Hauora Taiwhenua.

Responses from 141 rural practices showed increasing workloads, persistent staff shortages, ageing facilities and increasingly relying on short-term locums.

Almost half reported at least one GP vacancy.

However, the number of nurse practitioners had more than tripled since 2024.

Network chief executive Dr Grant Davidson said he had been struck by how little attention political parties were paying to rural health.

"This survey shows a sector working incredibly hard to hold things together, but it also shows the cracks," he said.

"Rural practices are expected to provide primary care, urgent care, emergency response, after-hours services, palliative care and workforce training, often with fewer staff and less infrastructure than their urban counterparts."

• 48 percent of responding practices have a GP vacancy
• Workforce shortages have shown little improvement since 2024
• 46 percent say their facilities are no longer fit for purpose
• 90 percent are affected by major seasonal population surges

Clinical director Dr Rebekah Doran said the survey demonstrated that rural general practices were "far more than a standard GP clinic".

"What stands out to me in this survey is that rural practices keep finding ways to make things work, despite vacancies, ageing facilities and growing demand. That's something to be proud of, but we shouldn't confuse resilience with sustainability."