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Around 20 percent of New Zealanders live in rural areas, with more travelling to these areas each year for work, holidays, or whānau visits. Communities are diverse and rural people often experience poorer health outcomes than their urban counterparts.

Compared to urban populations, rural populations are more likely to be older, live in deprivation and struggle to access housing and employment. People living in rural Aotearoa New Zealand use health services less frequently, often presenting with more advanced illnesses, particularly rural Māori (Nixon et al, 2023). Access to urgent and unplanned care decreases with greater rurality.

Smaller populations, lower volumes of presentations to health services and geographical isolation mean that rural models of care need to be more integrated between digital health (e.g. Rural Teleconsult Service), traditional general practice, rural hospitals, after-hours pharmacy services, and ambulance services including PRIME.

New and improved urgent and after-hours healthcare

The Government announced in May 2025, $164 million investment over four years to expand and strengthen urgent and after-hours healthcare services across the country. The aim is to ensure 98% of New Zealanders can access urgent care within one hour’s drive of their home.

Health NZ is taking a phased approach to ensure new and improved urgent and after-hours care services are effectively integrated and supported. Work has started and will continue until mid-2027 to rollout service improvements in around 70 rural and remote areas.

The national framework provides a foundation for improving after-hours and urgent care services for rural and remote communities. Recommendations from the Rural Urgent Unplanned Care (RUUC) review were considered in the development of the national framework.

  • Urgent and after-hours healthcare

    The Government is investing $164 million to improve urgent and after-hours healthcare nationwide. This aims to make care more accessible, ease pressure on emergency departments, and improve health outcomes across communities.

  • Rural Urgent and Unplanned Care Recommendation Paper

    All recommendations were considered in the development of the New and Improved Urgent and After-Hours Care Framework, with most incorporated into the national rollout over the next two years.

Rural Health Prototypes

Funding agreements are now in place for six rural and remote prototype locations, selected to trial innovative rural urgent care models.

The six locations are:

  • Tūrangi
  • Twizel
  • Golden Bay 
  • Te Kūiti
  • Coromandel
  • Aotea / Great Barrier Island

The purpose of the Rural and Remote Prototype Project is to test and refine the rural and remote urgent care models articulated in the New and Improved Urgent and After-hours Care Framework.

These communities will test rural-specific models that include: 

  • Enhanced point-of-care diagnostics
  • Improved access to medicines
  • Equipment and tools to support clinical decision-making
  • Closer coordination with ambulance service

Implementation and next steps

Implementation has begun. These communities were chosen because they represent a mix of geography, population, and health system challenges, and are well-positioned to help shape future rural health service design.

Insights will inform wider rural health enhancements in up to 70 rural and remote locations over the next two years.