Tongan Health Society is looking into opening a satellite general practice in Tonga, in a bid to improve the health of Tongan immigrants before they arrive in New Zealand.
The aim is not only to address health issues at an early stage but to also alleviate the potential “economic and disease burden” on New Zealand once they arrive here, chief executive Glenn Doherty says.
At present, the society runs an outreach clinic in Tonga around two times a year and Dr Doherty sees the satellite general practice as a “natural progression”.
The society’s two practices in Panmure and Onehunga have at least 2000 casual patients on its books, he says. These are Tongan residents who have a New Zealand work visa or are in various stages of the immigration process, or Tongans who periodically visit New Zealand to access healthcare.
In the past 18 months, the practice has had around 5000 consultations for some 900 casual patients. Casual adult patients pay around $60 per consultation.
Dr Doherty is the latest to share his views on primary care in the latest instalment of the New Zealand Doctor podcast series Primary Thinking.
In an interview, he also talks about challenges in caring for a specific demographic (the society’s enrolled patients are 94 per cent of Tongan descent) and shares new ideas on how to improve funding models in primary care.