Canterbury District Health Board is offering free GP consultations to all people living in the region who have been affected by the recent floods, where the reason for the consultation is flood-related.

It says people wishing to access a free consultation for this reason should make an appointment by phoning their usual General Practice.

The reason for the appointment needs to be flood-related and so people should expect to be asked about that when they call.

Free GP consultations will run until 16 August.

This initiative is made possible with the support of Pegasus Health, Waitaha Primary Health and Christchurch PHO.

Meanwhile, the Government has announced a further $4 million of funding to support flood-affected Canterbury farmers.

An additional $100,000 will also be provided to the Mayoral Relief Fund to support Canterbury communities.

The funding is in addition to the $500,000 committed by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) on 1 June.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said “MPI has already started depositing grants into the bank accounts of severely flood-affected farmers, and we will continue to work closely with Federated Farmers, Rural Support Trusts, councils, and industry organisations to support farmers with their recovery.”

The funds will be provided to the Mayoral Relief Fund to be disbursed across the Canterbury region and is in addition to other support that people may be eligible for through the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and MPI.

Enhanced Taskforce Green funding of $500,000 from the Ministry of Social Development, which was announced earlier this month, has been activated to help with the clean-up.