Publicly funded health services include:
- Free public hospital treatment
- Free treatment at public hospital 24-hour accident and emergency (A&E) clinics
- Subsidies on prescription items
- Subsidised fees for visits by family members to general practitioners (GPs)
- Subsidised fees for visits to physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths when referred by a GP for an accident case
- Free or subsidised health care for those suffering from acute or chronic medical conditions
- No charge for most laboratory tests and x-rays, except at privately operated clinics
- No charge for health care during pregnancy and childbirth, unless provided by the private medical sector
- No charge for GP referrals to a public hospital for treatment
- Subsidies for children under six for visits to the doctor and for prescriptions
- Free breast screening for women aged between 45 and 69.
Your first point of contact with the health system will probably be your GP (General Practitioner), also known as your family doctor. New Zealand has about 3,200 GPs. These are located in almost every city, suburb and town throughout the country. Local GPs are listed in The Telephone Book.
