Northland patients wait until four weeks to see their GP while medical centers face a shortage of general practitioners, an increasing workload and increasing cases of Covid-19 and flu.
Patients say that waiting times are not good enough and that they are afraid that not enough is being done in new health reforms to solve the problems.
The challenges come as North Korean hospitals are fullwhere patients are treated in corridors and on chairs.
One patient, Brian, whose last name stuff agreed not to use, have to wait a month visit a doctor at Dargaville Medical Center for a suspected rotator cuff injury after a fall.
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He fears it will take several more months to see a specialist and have shoulder surgery if necessary.
While managing the pain with over-the-counter pain medication, Brian finds it difficult to sleep and can’t lift his arms to change.
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A man with a suspected rotator cuff injury has to take over-the-counter pain medication and fears it will be many more months before he can see a specialist. (File photo)
Bush Road Medical Center has created a red zone, rented a movable cabin and has two acute care doctors so it can treat safely patients with Covid-like symptoms.
Bush Road Medical Center in Whangarei also uses a patient-centered care model to meet demand, including clinicians calling every patient who has requested an urgent appointment.
Director and GP Dr. Andrew Miller said each patient is assessed over the phone first, then urgent patients are seen in same-day appointments, in a model of care called Health Care Home.
About half of patients can be helped over the phone without having to be physically seen, such as patients who need a medical certificate, patients who need a script for pain relief or patients who simply need advice.
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A patient from Northland says she can’t get a repeat prescription because she doesn’t want to wait outside for an assessment while she has pneumonia. (File photo)
“Together with them, we decide a plan of action for their best care,” he said.
“We are one of the few practices that every patient in need can see every day — a patient with chest pain or very unwell will be seen right away.”
On Monday, July 4, the practice said it had received 65 requests for a same-day appointment in the first 2 hours of the day and had spoken to 115 patients by the end of the day with all their issues resolved over the phone or seen on the website. excercise. In the past year, they have handled 11,000 calls for urgent day care, with 50% of callers resolved their issues without having to visit the practice.
The practice also received and sent 35,000 messages to patients who needed advice on non-emergency issues.
Mahitahi Hauora, primary health authority for most Northland medical centers, says shortage of doctors in the region compounded by a perfect storm of factors.
Extra Covid-19 care workvaccine mandates, border closures that prevent foreign countries doctors entering the country and visa restrictions that some doctors had to return abroad have all had an impact, said Sandra Wilkinson, partner services manager.
In addition, there is a large increase in people moving to Northlandshe said. Infometrics estimates Northland grew 1.9% in 2021 alone, much faster than the 0.6% for all of New Zealand.
Mahitahi Hauora is trying to help by increasing the number of mental health professionals and nurses in primary care practices, to ease the pressure on primary care physicians, Wilkinson said.
It also sees hospitals help ease the out-of-hours load in the Far North and is looking at options to increase virtual care in Northland.
A long-standing Tai Tokerau Medical Workforce Pipeline aims to encourage graduates into primary care in the region, with six medical students completing internships this year, she said.
A Whangārei practice manager, Iain Watkins of West End Medical, said practices are trying to assess patients over the phone to determine if they need urgent care.
Acute patients and young children should be seen on the same day, but patients whose condition does not worsen from a wait will be classified as non-urgent, he said.
But Watkins said patients who might be in pain — like Brian with the rotator cuff injury — shouldn’t wait too long to be seen by a GP.
He agreed with Wilkinson’s assessment of the factors contributing to the shortage of GPs, but said specialists also asked GPs to do more work for patients who need surgery.
Burnout and stress is a common problem for GPs and Watkins is concerned another wave of Covid-19 could approach.
Wilkinson said everyone can play their part in helping medical centers keep doctor’s appointments free for people who really need them.
Most people with a cold or flu don’t need to see a doctor, and anyone in doubt can contact Healthline on 0800 611 116 for advice.
She advises patients to talk to their medical center about seeing a nurse or making a virtual appointment.
But she said patients who think they need to be seen urgently should inform the medical center and call an ambulance on 111 in a medical emergency.
The director and primary care physician of Bush Road Medical Center, Dr. Geoff Cunningham, said patients with respiratory symptoms – which could be Covid-19 or the flu – are seen in the “red zone” of the practice, which is separated from the rest of the center and has high-tech, high flow, negative pressure ventilation systems. .
Bush Road has two acute care physicians and a paramedic.
“No other medical center in Northland offers that level of acute care. We are almost unmatched in New Zealand,” he said.
Patients with respiratory symptoms or a high temperature may also be seen in their car or in a ventilated, air-purified portable cabin, he said.
There is a small alcove outside where patients can wait to be seen outside again.
Miller said the Health Care Home also includes a portal, where patients can access their notes.
The care model has been so successful that the practice has opened its books to enroll new patients and has added three new GPs.
He hoped the new Health New Zealand would properly fund the model to… supporting the sustainability of GP practices.
Cunningham said the workload for GPs is enormous, and the situation is worse in Northland, which has an aging population, high demand and historic underfunding.
stuff could not reach Dargaville Medical Center for comment.
Correction: This story has been modified since it was originally published, removing an anonymous patient’s comments and adding details provided by Bush Rd Medical Center. Updated July 22, 2022.