June 01, 2018
Waipareira challenges winter care rort
As winter starts to bite, west Auckland social service provider Te Whanau o Waipareira is demanding action on the cost of after hours medical care.
Chief executive John Tamihere says an emergency visit to a medical centre in the area costs $92, jumping to $107 on weekends and public holidays.
Even with a community services card it costs $42, which means many families wait until they can see their own GP, at the risk of getting sicker.
For the fifth year Waipareira has put up billboards urging whanau go to the Waitakere Hospital A&E department rather than private clinics.
Mr Tamihere says it would prefer the government take over the after-hours service because the private sector is rorting it.
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