What is involved in Primary Health Care?

Primary Health Care relates to the professional health care received in the community, usually from a General Practitioner or General Practice Nurse.

Covers a broad range...

Primary healthcare covers a broad range of health and preventative services, including health education, counselling, disease prevention and screening. A strong primary health care system is central to improving the health of all New Zealanders and reducing health inequalities between different groups.

An essential service...

Primary healthcare is 'essential health care' based on practical, scientifically sound, socially acceptable methods and technologies, made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community. This is through their full participation and at a cost that the community and country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development, in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination.

Primary healthcare forms an integral part, both of the country's health system (of which it is the central function and main focus), and of the overall social and economic development of the community. It is the first level of contact with the national health system for individuals, families and the community, bringing healthcare as close as possible to where people live and work, and constitutes the first element of a continuing health care process.