Waiheke Island, 4 September 2024

Waiheke Medical Centre (WMC) has announced the opening of a new After-Hours Care service following the recent closure of Waiheke Oranga Urgent After Hours Ltd (WOUAH). This decision comes after WOUAH went into insolvency late last week, leaving the community without essential urgent after-hours medical services.

The sudden closure of WOUAH has placed significant pressure on Waiheke Island's healthcare services, prompting WMC to step in and ensure continuity of care for the local community. WMC will be privately funding this new service in the interim period to ensure that patient safety is not compromised.

"Waiheke Medical Centre is committed to providing quality healthcare to our community," said Jonathan O’Shea Kairuruku (Clinic Coordinator) of Waiheke Medical Centre. "With the closure of WOUAH, it is crucial that we act quickly to fill the gap in after-hours care to ensure that our patients continue to have access to urgent medical services when they need them most."

WMC is meeting with Te Whatu Ora next week to discuss the potential of funding to support the new After-Hours Care service and will be seeking support from key stakeholders to deliver this to the Waiheke community. It is understood that Te Whatu Ora will also be meeting with other Waiheke health care providers.

WMC is currently working through a draft business model to deliver After Hours Care and is working diligently to finalise the details. "We are hopeful that Te Whatu Ora will provide the necessary funding to make this service sustainable long-term. In the meantime, WMC will do everything in its power to support our community," added O’Shea.

Optimal health and wellbeing outcomes of patients, whānau and our community, together with our primary health care and social service staff are our priority. Waiheke Medical Centre remains dedicated to maintaining high standards of care and is working closely with key stakeholders to ensure a seamless transition and continued service provision to the community.