Health reforms must comprise ongoing and wider engagement
It’s no secret that the primary healthcare infrastructure in the Mid and Far North is in a parlous state. Overworked GPs are not taking on new patients, despite unprecedented levels of population growth across the region, while people needing more than basic attention face long drives to Kawakawa or Whangarei. There is a huge shortage of GPs in New Zealand; even more so in our region. The result is that illnesses that could be treated by GPs are overlooked until they worsen and require hospitalisation. It’s almost impossible to get a regular doctor’s appointment at short notice and urgent appointments frequently require a lengthy wait.
So it was disappointing to dig into the detail of the health system reforms announced last month only to find that they failed to address these and other pressing issues that have been flagged again and again in recent years.
Issues like the critical shortage of GPs or the dangerous and entirely inappropriate shortage of care beds for elderly across our region. And the government-generated pay gap between nursing positions in public hospitals and those in aged care facilities - something that is eroding significantly the ability of rest homes right across the country to continue offering first-rate care. The point is: it’s time for political aspirations for our health system to match the realities of day-to-day demand.
The government has said there are still policy changes to come around funding, workforce and digital. So maybe they’ll address some of these issues, at least.
However, as New Zealand Rural General Practice Network chief executive Dr Grant Davidson says, any changes are medium to long term in terms of potential impact. He is concerned they could cause a major distraction from the current crisis in workforce and funding that exists throughout rural New Zealand. “The workforce is stressed, burnt out, and under-capacity,” Dr Davidson says. “We need action to deal with that now until these changes come into effect.”
The challenges Northland faces with its degrading healthcare infrastructure are not unique to our region. The Ministry of Health urgently needs to take steps that will see doctors and registered nurses encouraged to work in provincial centres or, at the very least, encourage more people to move into the medical profession.
On a more positive note, there exists among those of us who work in, or alongside, our health system a huge reservoir of goodwill and a drive to see it flourish. We have an immense amount of insight and lived experience that could be used to deal effectively with many, if not all, of the barriers to effective healthcare delivery. We’re keen to make the point that this latest set of reforms should mark the start of ongoing improvement based on dialogue and cooperation with those who are at the point of delivery.