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If you’ve got a power account and live in central, east or south Auckland, a dividend payment may be coming your way in late September. It’s as easy as looking out for the Entrust pack in your letterbox or email inbox.
Check we have your correct details and update us by Friday 2 August by … View moreIf you’ve got a power account and live in central, east or south Auckland, a dividend payment may be coming your way in late September. It’s as easy as looking out for the Entrust pack in your letterbox or email inbox.
Check we have your correct details and update us by Friday 2 August by email, mail or through the secure web link provided in your email or letter.
For only $15 a ticket, you could be in to win this brand-new, fully furnished Jennian home located in beautiful Mangawhai, worth almost $1.4 million dollars.
Featuring three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area, this home is waiting to be loved by its new … View moreFor only $15 a ticket, you could be in to win this brand-new, fully furnished Jennian home located in beautiful Mangawhai, worth almost $1.4 million dollars.
Featuring three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area, this home is waiting to be loved by its new owner.
Make this property your permanent residence, a holiday home, a rental, or you can simply sell it!
Get your tickets today at heartlottery.org.nz.
Winter is well and truly here, and we’re helping you keep your cup full and your mind entertained. Simply purchase or gift a subscription via mags4gifts.co.nz before 31 July and you’ll automatically be placed in the draw to win 1 of 3 Delonghi Espresso Coffee Makers worth $229* each!
… View moreWinter is well and truly here, and we’re helping you keep your cup full and your mind entertained. Simply purchase or gift a subscription via mags4gifts.co.nz before 31 July and you’ll automatically be placed in the draw to win 1 of 3 Delonghi Espresso Coffee Makers worth $229* each!
With over 50 titles to choose from, there’s something for everyone. *T&Cs apply
Thank you for the overwhelming response. We truly value your local support. Join us this weekend at 32 Carr Road, Mt Roskill (opposite Mt Roskill Fresh Supermarket), this Saturday and Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm. ⏰
We offer a diverse selection of dosas, idly, medu vada, and masala tea for you to … View moreThank you for the overwhelming response. We truly value your local support. Join us this weekend at 32 Carr Road, Mt Roskill (opposite Mt Roskill Fresh Supermarket), this Saturday and Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm. ⏰
We offer a diverse selection of dosas, idly, medu vada, and masala tea for you to enjoy this weekend!
Ample parking is available, along with gazebo seating! ☔️
Options for dining in or takeaway are available. ✨🕺🏻
Follow the link to this article about effectively using shelving for self storage. This also applies to storage in your home or business.
In this article we are going to look at shelving solutions for both home and business storage that will ensure that: Your unit makes efficient use of space, is … View moreFollow the link to this article about effectively using shelving for self storage. This also applies to storage in your home or business.
In this article we are going to look at shelving solutions for both home and business storage that will ensure that: Your unit makes efficient use of space, is cost effective and protects your inventory or belongings.
Kiwi Self Storage - Canstar Blue Winner Best Storage 2024
www.canstarblue.co.nz.....
#selfstoragenz
#storageideas
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#sizeguide
#storagetips
General practitioners (GPs) can set their own patient fees in New Zealand — and they must weigh up several factors when it comes to the cost of their services.
While children under 14 are eligible for free health checks, and cheaper GP visits are available to certain groups through a High Use … View moreGeneral practitioners (GPs) can set their own patient fees in New Zealand — and they must weigh up several factors when it comes to the cost of their services.
While children under 14 are eligible for free health checks, and cheaper GP visits are available to certain groups through a High Use Health Card or a Community Services Card, everyone else is generally forking out a co-payment to visit their doctor.
So, how do GPs and medical centres decide on those fees? And why do they differ depending on where you are in New Zealand?
First, the government funding
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GPs get lower than expected funding boost from Health NZ
There are warnings it could mean some practices shut down, Cushla Norman reports.
GPs receive government funding through a system known as capitation.
Under capitation, GPs get a set amount of money for each enrolled patient they have, each year. They are not paid per visit.
The Government pays this money to Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) who then pay the money down to general practices within that PHO.
Not all patients are funded for the same amount under this system. The funding varies depending on things like a patient's age and gender, said Dr Angus Chambers, a GP and chairman of the General Practice Owners Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (GenPro).
"A very young person will go to the doctor a lot more for a whole lot of reasons and a very old person will too — but a 25-year-old is much less likely to, so there's a lesser [capitation] fee for [them]," he said.
However, this funding system is based around data from more than 20 years ago, Chambers said.
"It's very dated data ... and it's not nearly sophisticated enough," he said. "I get the same payment for a 65-year-old [patient] as I do for a 95-year-old, and a 95-year-old's health needs are exponentially higher than a 65-year-old's," he said.
"[The system] doesn't take into account the age and complexity of people and inequities, so it's generally accepted to be not really that fit for purpose; it's accepted it needs to be changed."
It also doesn't consider that health needs and health care have changed a lot over the past 20 years, Chambers said.
"There's new treatments, new tests, different ways of managing things, a surge in mental health demand — the list goes on."
Deciding on fee increases
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This year's average allowable fee increase is 7.76%.
General practices need to work out how much they need to charge each year to cover costs and keep their business viable.
Underpinning those decisions is a fees review process known as the annual statement of reasonable GP fee increases (ASRFI).
This is a guideline issued by the Ministry of Health. It recommends a maximum percentage GPs can increase their fees by each year, based on predicted cost pressures, such as inflation, labour and other operational expenses.
This year's average allowable fee increase is 7.76%.
GPs can choose to increase their fees by more than the ASRFI, Chambers said, but they are in for a lengthy, expensive process if they do.
"If a practice breaches that ASRFI number, Te Whatu Ora can refer them to the Fees Review Committee," he said.
"[GPs] have to submit data to [the committee]. If they've exceeded [the ASRFI] and the committee thinks it's reasonable, they can go ahead. But if the committee doesn't think it's reasonable, then they can make a recommendation that you reduce your fees.
"There's quite a bit of risk and expense if you exceed the cap [on fee increases]."
Fee variations around the country
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There can be significant variation in how much people pay to see a GP in New Zealand.
The amount people pay to see a GP can vary quite a bit, depending on what part of the country they live in.
Some of this comes down to the actual cost of doing business — leases can be quite a lot higher in Auckland than in small towns, for example — but some of the difference is historic, Chambers said.
He said regions with more socioeconomic deprivation have traditionally charged less because GPs would likely otherwise end up with bad debt and disgruntled patients.
Then, the fees review process and its cap on fee increases locks practices into low fees.
For example, if a GP charged $100 for a patient and was allowed a 5% fees increase, their fee would increase by $5 to $105. A GP in another area charging a $50 co-payment, on the other hand, would only be able to increase their fee by $2.50.
"The gap grows wider and wider because of this policy setting, so practices that have started off [with low fees] get entrenched in this historical discrepancy," Chambers said.
It's leading to what Chambers calls market failure.
"There's not enough GPs, so you're competing more and more [to hire people], and doctors are probably going to higher-paying jobs."
This means some regions, especially rural areas, are at further risk of losing access to general health services.
"We have this workforce shortage, which is partly related to poor policy in terms of training people, but also underfunding, which is making it far more attractive to go into other specialties than general practice."
The knock-on effect
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Increasing GP fees can mean people put off medical care.
Higher co-payments can mean people put off going to a GP, Chambers said.
"That means they might present later and sicker ... or they can't afford it, so they end up going to the emergency departments and clog [them]."
Chambers said GPs know access to primary care is worse than it's ever been and don't like having to increase fees to cover costs.
But GenPro said last month Te Whatu Ora was failing to cover the increased costs of providing community health care, which ultimately means the cost burden shifts to patients.
PHOs represented by General Practice New Zealand, Te Kāhui Hauora Māori PHOs, and the Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network have all similarly slammed the Government's funding offer for GP services this year.
"[GPs] don't want to increase fees like this because they're part of the community too and their patients are often well known to them — and they feel this is a result of very poor policy for quite a long time from both sides of the political divide," Chambers said.
"We're wearing the stick for failure of the government as a whole.
"[Governments] have had a lot of advice from people telling them that this situation will come around and they've, frankly, ignored it."
Te Whatu Ora told 1News it acknowledges the cost pressures GPs are facing and the growing demand on their services.
"Health NZ-provided services are facing similar pressures in a fiscally constrained environment," Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora's living well director Martin Hefford said.
"Through our annual capitation uplift offer, we have worked hard to target available funding where it is most needed to support primary health care and general practice."
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www.1news.co.nz...
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Topline is incredibly proud to have achieved the 100% SiteWise Gold Status for the 2023-2024 period for the 7th year in a row (from 2016/2017).
This annual health & safety assessment by SiteWise is exceptionally important to all reputable commercial roofing and commercial plumbing contractors… View moreTopline is incredibly proud to have achieved the 100% SiteWise Gold Status for the 2023-2024 period for the 7th year in a row (from 2016/2017).
This annual health & safety assessment by SiteWise is exceptionally important to all reputable commercial roofing and commercial plumbing contractors across Auckland and New Zealand.
Less than 4% of businesses in New Zealand have attained the Gold Status, and fewer still, only 0.3%, have managed to maintain a 100% SiteWise status for 3-7 consecutive years.
To put this in perspective, less than 3 in every 1,000 businesses which attained SiteWise accreditation in 2023/2024 can say they have consistently achieved this ongoing, high level of commitment to health and safety.
Topline, Auckland’s commercial roofers, and commercial plumbers, gasfitters, and drainage contractors, have demonstrated that high quality health and safety systems are in place within the team and business. It reflects an ongoing commitment to Health & Safety.
To achieve Gold Status, businesses must score 90% and over. Topline’s SiteWise Assessment Score was 100%
If you are in the commercial industry, SiteWise is often required in the prequalification assessment process when choosing a commercial roofing or plumbing contractor. It shows we follow the rules - we have processes in place to keep everyone as safe as possible by managing and minimising any health and safety risks.
The SiteWise 100% status means a lot to Topline. Not only does it add to our proven record, it also gives us credibility and validates what we are constantly striving for – maintaining the highest possible standards across our business.
If dealing with a company who prioritises best practice is important to you, get in touch with Auckland’s SiteWise Accredited Contractors, Topline Roofing, Plumbing, Gasfitting, and Drainage. Our team of specialist trade experts are happy to help!
“Looking for something to do with your kids this weekend? Why not take them on a Kiwi Treasure hunt to your local Red Cross Shop!”
It’s easy to create your very own colourful planter box, with the kids or for the kids to enjoy, from an old wooden drawer and Resene testpots.
Find out how to create your own with these easy step by step instructions.
We're looking for delicious orange recipes to feature in NZ Gardener's October issue. Send your family's favourite ways to enjoy this fruit to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz by August 20, 2024. Every published recipe wins a copy of the October issue of NZ Gardener.
Are you the Special Someone our animals have been looking for?
Until Sun 21 July only, we are waiving adoption fees for our long-stay residents for the right home.*
They might be older, shy, have only three legs or just need that extra bit of attention and care – but they all deserve a … View moreAre you the Special Someone our animals have been looking for?
Until Sun 21 July only, we are waiving adoption fees for our long-stay residents for the right home.*
They might be older, shy, have only three legs or just need that extra bit of attention and care – but they all deserve a loving home. And they have been waiting for a long time for that Special Love!
Look for the ‘Special Love Needed’ tag on our adoption profiles, check you can provide what they need to flourish & apply online at www.spca.nz...
*The offer applies to animals looking for homes for more than 40 days; our usual adoption criteria and processes apply.
Some of our Kiwi Treasures on display this week 🎁
Plus our Book Sale continuing through the school holidays and beyond! 🚀
571 Sandringham Road
Mon-Fri: 10am to 5pm
Sat: 10am to 4pm
Winter isn’t usually associated with pottering about in the garden. However, it’s possible to grow, harvest, and share a bustling winter crop.
As we have celebrated Matariki and the beginning of the Māori New Year, for winter gardeners it’s the right time to cultivate crops that thrive in… View moreWinter isn’t usually associated with pottering about in the garden. However, it’s possible to grow, harvest, and share a bustling winter crop.
As we have celebrated Matariki and the beginning of the Māori New Year, for winter gardeners it’s the right time to cultivate crops that thrive in cooler temperatures and to prepare the soil for future planting.
Click read more for the full story.
Celebrate a 65th birthday with a meaningful gift and support Communicare's mission—give the gift of love and support.
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