The analysis, commissioned by the Office of the Auditor, was part of the OAG’s review of community access to primary healthcare services around New Zealand. 

Critchlow used a sophisticated analysis model, taking into account a comprehensive set of variables to calculate how many Kiwis have access to after-hours medical care within 60mins drive of their home.

The analysis concluded that 99.7% of New Zealanders had access to after-hours services within 60 mins drive, and that around 14,000 people sometimes or never had access to these services within 60mins.

“Critchlow’s road database, routing platforms and information based on NationalMap3 played a large part in the analysis,” explains Critchlow’s professional services manager Chris Johnston.

“One of the biggest factors in our analysis was taking into account actual travel speeds - our analysis was based on 1.8 million actual vehicle readings.  We analysed 21 different time slots across the week, and applied algorithms to take into account other variables. Overall, it was a very comprehensive analysis that replicated work that we had undertaken for the health sector for over a decade,” he says.

The report, District Health Boards: Availability and Accessibility of After-Hours Services was tabled in parliament on 7 September, and acknowledged Critchlow’s assistance in carrying out the GIS analysis.

“Helping organisations make better decisions is an important part of what we do, and we’re glad that our analysis has contributed to the improvement of health services across New Zealand,” said Critchlow’s CEO Jos Kunnen.

- Read a full copy of the report.