Sounds sensible

The Herald reports:

Primary health services are about to undergo their biggest shake-up in nearly a decade, shifting some hospital services into the community and creating new super-clinics.

The kinds of services the integrated family health centres might offer are expected to include minor skin surgery, referral to diagnostic imaging and consultations with hospital specialists. …

The Health Ministry has provisionally accepted nine bids from groups of PHOs and DHBs for devolution of some hospital services to primary care – they must remain free to patients – and the creation of integrated family health centres.

It all seems sensible, so I wonder why it hasn’t happened earlier.

Services provided by integrated family health centres could include:

* 24-hour accident and medical care.
* Laboratory collection, some on-site testing.
* Clinical psychology, counselling.
* Dental care.
* Midwifery clinics.
* Acute assessment and observation beds.
* Minor surgery.
* Consultations with specialists.
* Referral for magnetic resonance imaging.

It will be interesting to see one in operation.