ABSTRACT
Unmet health care needs and health inequities are prevalent in New Zealand. Throughout New Zealand's history, the power dynamic between general practitioners, as a professional group, and the government has contributed to policies directed at primary-care access barriers not being fully realised. This has given 'third sector' (non-government, non-profit) clinics a continuing role in delivering primary care services to vulnerable populations. The viability of free clinics, 18 of which were identified in our survey, is threatened by their funding and staffing structures. We contend that general practitioners have a stake in reducing health inequities and that there is a strong case for a more systematic policy approach to primary health care provision for vulnerable populations in New Zealand.
