Three free doctor’s visits, shorter wait times, and care closer to home – for everyone.
Everyone should be able to see a local doctor when they need to. And every doctor who wants to serve their community should be able to set up and stay in practice.
Labour’s Family Doctor Loan Scheme is the next step in our plan to make it easier to get an appointment.
A Labour Government will:
Give every New Zealander three free doctor’s visits a year with a new Medicard
Support local GPs to buy into practices and stay in their communities
Free up 4.5 million appointments a year by giving doctors more time, space and tools to see patients
Fix general practice’s long-term funding challenges
The Family Doctor Loan Scheme is a practical, targeted way to boost the number of clinics across New Zealand - and strengthen the ones we already have.
How the Family Doctor Loan Scheme works:
Up to 50 loans will be available every year – prioritising areas that have no GPs or practices with closed or partially closed books.
Loans only available for owner-operated general practices, not large corporations.
Doctors will have 10 years to repay the loans, which will be interest-free for the first two years.
The loans will be delivered through the existing Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme
The Family Doctor Loan Scheme is part of Labour’s plan to make it easier to get an appointment.
Labour has worked with health experts on a practical plan to free up more than 4.5 million GP appointments every year.
These are simple, affordable changes that will free up doctors’ time so they can focus on patients, not paperwork.
Here’s how we’ll make sure doctors can see more patients:
Getting more doctors into local communities
Targeted funding to expand clinic space in high-demand areas could free up 180,000 appointments a year.
Smarter systems that save time
Fund and train general practices to introduce clinical phone triage so patients are directed to the right care - freeing up around 1.9 million appointments a year.
Support doctors to provide advice for long-term conditions, saving 1 million appointments.
More space and tools for doctors
Expand the use of technology to reduce administration, freeing up 1.5 million appointments a year.
Introduce a new Digital Innovation Fund to make sure clinics can quickly trial and adopt the best new technology as it becomes available.
Lower costs, more options
More open and efficient procurement for doctors, to reduce everyday running costs.
Review funding to ensure telehealth complements, not replaces, face-to-face care.
