Enrolling newborns with a GP
|
Recent policy changes mean that newborn babies can now be enrolled with their GP soon after birth. An established relationship with a primary health care provider is a critical factor in children receiving essential healthcare and the timely delivery of immunisations.
|
You might also be interested in ...
Things to keep from your baby’s first year
So what items are good to keep from your baby's first year? Fun things to add to their memory box for when they’re older. During your baby's first year, they'll often accumulate a lot things, so it's sometimes difficult to know what to keep.
Button battery safety for kids
Small silver round button batteries and lithium coin batteries look quite harmless, but they can be extremely dangerous if children swallow them, and can cause significant and potentially fatal injuries – in less than 2 hours! Find out how to keep your kids safe from the dangers of button batteries.
join usJoin us on social media for all our latest news. 
|
sign upSign up and receive our latest newsletters. |
|
New Zealand research has found that an established relationship with a primary health care provider is a critical factor in children receiving essential healthcare and the timely delivery of immunisations.
Currently fewer than 50% of newborns are enrolled with a GP at 12 weeks.
However, under the new enrolment policy, GP practices can now enter newborns into their patient database as soon as they are nominated as the baby’s GP by the parents at the birthing unit, rather than waiting to enrol them at their first doctor’s appointment.
One of the benefits of the new system is that practices will be able to remind parents when their baby is due for their first immunisation at six weeks of age and going forwards.
Check out our other Hot Topics on:
- When to see a doctor
- NICU - common terms explained
- Dealing with accidents at home
Source NZ Ministry of Health. Image source: Dreamtime