Just five GP vouchers have been redeemed in a scheme meant to lighten the load on Dunedin Hospital's emergency department (ED), but the scheme will continue.
ED specialist Dr John Chambers said, when contacted, the vouchers were the result of ''wishful thinking'' by people who did not work in the busy department.
Dunedin Hospital dispensed 13 vouchers, five of them redeemed, between July 7 and November 27. The scheme also operates in Southland.
Initially, it was hoped about 20 patients a day would be referred to GPs from Dunedin Hospital.
About 30 patients in Dunedin and Invercargill had been assessed for the scheme, but some insisted on staying in the ED or left without a voucher because they could afford to pay for a GP.
''This idea was never going to have much impact on ED attendances. We see thousands of patients each month.
"These ideas are pushed through as a result of wishful thinking by well-intentioned people who do not work in the ED,'' Dr Chambers said.
Based on ''false reasoning'', if pushed strongly, such schemes usually cost more to administer than they saved.
''The real issue for patients is accessing a GP appointment in a suitable time frame to meet their needs, and in some cases getting registered with a GP at all,'' Dr Chambers said.
''When patients present to ED, the great majority of patients need to be seen and treated there.''
WellSouth Primary Health Network chief executive Ian Macara, who released the figures, acknowledged the organisation overestimated the number of vouchers likely to be issued.
The scheme would continue.
WellSouth, until recently called Southern Primary Health Organisation, introduced it to redirect patients to GPs if they did not need to see a hospital doctor.
When it was launched, the scheme was controversial and some nurses complained to their union over a lack of consultation and education.
Mr Macara said there was anecdotal evidence that fewer patients were presenting at ED because they were ''deciding themselves'' to go elsewhere ''and agreeing that ED is for emergency presentations only''.
''We are very pleased that the public are appropriately considering alternatives, therein supporting their ED and protecting the service from unnecessary workload,'' Mr Macara said.
However, figures provided by the Southern District Health Board show ED attendances in Dunedin between July and November were higher than in the corresponding months last year. In Invercargill, they were lower, especially in November.
Southern District Health Board patient services director Lexie O'Shea said the voucher scheme was part of a long-term process and was never going to produce quick results.
''The DHB and PHO have together introduced a range of initiatives to help ensure that people are cared for by family doctors, rather than the emergency department.
''This ensures better care for those patients, as GPs are better able to assist manage any ongoing conditions or health concerns,'' Mrs O'Shea said.
The scheme cost $280 so far, which included two vouchers redeemed in Invercargill.
The last published national health targets show Southern emergency departments dealt with 93% of patients within the required six hours.
