One in four NZ adults skip primary care visits due to wait times

Pacific adults experienced the highest levels of unmet need for a general practitioner.

New Zealand residents report difficulty in accessing primary care, whether enrolled with a general practitioner (GP) or not.

Data from the country’s Health and Independence report in 2025 revealed the most reported barrier to visiting a GP was the time taken to get an appointment.

The 2024 to 2025 Health Survey found that one in four adults (25.5%) and one in five children (19.5%) did not visit a GP because the wait time for an appointment was too long.

Women were much more likely than men to report unmet need due to wait times, as 30.1% of women were affected, compared with 20.7% of men.

Pacific adults experienced the highest levels of unmet need for a GP due to wait times— almost one-third (31.6%) reported being unable to visit a GP for this reason.

The report also noted that around one-third of disabled adults (33.2%) reported this unmet need in the past 12 months, compared with 24.7% of non-disabled adults.

Amongst adults overall, cost (14.9%) and difficulty taking time off work (8.8%) were frequently reported barriers.  

Moreover, 3.6% of adults and 1% of children reported leaving at least one prescription unfilled due to cost.