The Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care is responsible to the Medical Council of New Zealand for the training of Urgent Care doctors and oversees professional and clinical standards in Urgent Care settings.
Urgent care is the medical speciality focused on treating accidents and urgent health problems in specialised Urgent Care clinics located in the community. Across the motu, Urgent Care clinics provide around 2 million consultations each year, accounting for about 15% of all primary care doctor visits.
Urgent care clinics allow patients the opportunity to have their acute injuries and urgent medical conditions treated without having to go to an hospital emergency department or having to wait until the next available GP appointment. The impact on patient care and the health system is significant.
New Zealand was the first country to formally recognise Urgent Care as a medical branch and has the lowest emergency department attendance per capita in the developed world. In Auckland, where Urgent Care clinics are most concentrated, emergency department use is notably lower than in the rest of the country.