Problems can be ‘horrendous’
Otara GP Dr Mark Arbuckle doesn’t refer patients to dermatology unless absolutely necessary, “because you know it’s probably going to be bounced back”.
Late last year he asked for help for rest-home residents suffering recurrent scabies. A letter came back with treatment advice.
“It was very frustrating, because I did think they needed specialist review . . . They obviously couldn’t see them because they just didn’t have the resources.”
Delays and declined referrals were a problem in other specialty areas, Arbuckle said. Most patients at Otara Family and Christian Health Centre can’t afford private healthcare.
Skin conditions in children often centre around bad cases of eczema and dermatitis. Open, itchy wounds lead to secondary infections, particularly if there’s overcrowding.
Dr Nikki Turner is a Wellington GP and health spokeswoman for the Child Poverty Action Group, and said bad skin problems could also be hard to treat if a family had insecure housing and moved a lot.
The infections on top of severe eczema were “just horrendous”, said Turner, an associate professor at the University of Auckland. “People have no idea how bad they can be.
“I just saw a family of nine . . . half the children have really severe eczema. They got a skin infection that went around the entire family. And they were just weeping, open sores. And it’s a good family, a family trying very hard. And yet it’s overwhelming.”