New Zealand-Country Doctors.

NEW ZEALAND-DOCTOR SHORTAGE IN RURAL AREAS.

We keep hearing stories about the dire state of health in rural areas with doctor shortages, inefficient hospitals and the like. Interestingly in the Wairarapa we have an excellent number and range of doctors and our hospital is superb.

Yes, it is still possible to walk off the street into a doctor’s surgery and get an appointment and, in my experience, be most professionally seen to.

Asking the question about availability to the doctor I go to, David Nixon, he informed me that in the Wairarapa there are no waiting lists to get into GPs.

He goes further.

"All medical practices plus the hospital are delivering services equal to or better than anywhere else in the country," Nixon said. "We pride ourselves in outperforming other areas."

How he achieved that in his practice, the Chapel Street Family Doctors, is interesting. You phone for an appointment and if your doctor isn’t available you see one of the others who will have all your details precisely presented on a computer. You can always get an appointment when you want one. What is further interesting is that almost all of the doctors I’ve seen, and they have without doubt been excellent, have arrived from off-shore.

The news we keep getting is that newly qualified doctors are leaving the country in droves but in the Wairarapa we are importing top doctors from a variety of countries.

There’s a highly qualified Belgian doctor who specialises as a dermatologist. There’s one from Alaska whose field is sports medicine. Another from Texas specialises in women’s and adolescent health. A Pakistani with a post-graduate qualification from the US is a specialist in orthopaedics and minor surgery.

There are also two from the UK, one with an interest in travel medicine and another who also lectures for the Royal College.

Nixon says it can take up to a year to get a top doctor over here but both the NZ Medical Council and Immigration NZ have been most helpful.

My point is that if we can do that in the Wairarapa are other regions inactive or what?

In addition to the doctors Nixon employs a French anthropologist who is working closely with Maori, an American psychiatric and art therapist, a computer programmer from Liverpool, an Aussie physiotherapist and an African-English and an English podiatrist. Of the nursing staff 10 are Kiwi, one Dutch, one Welsh and one British.

As far as quality is concerned the practice was one of the first seven in NZ to undergo accreditation with the College of GPs’ cornerstone standard so quality is state-of-the-art.

In addition to the off-shore expertise the local area is looked after as well with the Te Haora business working out of the practice and co-ordinating with local Maori health providers.

As well as having excellent health care it is not expensive. The practice charges nothing for kids under six, $10 for teenagers and $16 for adults. There is no surcharge for weekends.

Nixon proudly boasts: "I’ve invested over $1 million in the building that’s included an expanded pharmacy and physiotherapy. I’ve halved fees and doubled the number of doctors. I want to make a difference." He adds: "The delivery of medical services is a creative process."

What impressed me, other than Nixon’s obvious passion and commitment, is that he claims it’s not just his practice but the Wairarapa as a whole that has developed excellent medical services. I believe I enjoy a better health system in relatively isolated coastal Wairarapa than I ever did in central Wellington. I have absolutely no complaints.

What does annoy me, however, is hearing the constant barrage in the news media and from politicians including the Minister that the medical system is falling apart. In the Wairarapa at least it is not. Yes, we have the energy of one doctor and a state-of-the-art practice but I’m told it is typical of the province.

What that tells me is that if we can do it, so can those in other parts of the country so the answer is to stop bleating and fix it.

Mind you a profitable alternative could be health tourism. Bringing people from areas where they can’t get into a doctor over here where they can. I must investigate that further.

As an aside a fringe benefit is that the husband of one of the off-shore experts is an excellent rugby player-coach who is gainfully employed by the victorious rural East Coast rugby team. I didn’t know they played rugby in Kansas.