Health
A 10-day wait to see a nurse or doctor and much higher costs are a symptom of the “third word” health service that residents of Reefton have to live with
People from Reefton who are forced to travel to Greymouth to see a doctor have to pay three times what they would normally pay to their GP – on top of the travel costs.
West Coast Health mainly relies on nurses and telecare to provide primary care in the town of about 1,000 residents this winter after it was unable to recruit the places it normally uses to staff the Reefton clinic.
But patients who urgently need an in-person doctor’s appointment have paid $100 for the privilege.
Vicki Reed, who is 63, went to Reefton clinic this week in agony with a bulging disc in her back.
“I’ve had this before and the specialist told me I would need a steroid injection under ultrasound next time, so I just wanted an urgent referral to the specialist.”
But no doctor was available to write the referral letter and the nurse at the clinic told Reid to go to Te Nīkau Hospital and Health Center in Greymouth, 50 miles away, to see a GP.
“My husband drove me down and I waited four and a half hours in the triage room before being referred to the GP. I don’t blame the staff – they’re all under fire – but then I had to pay $57 for the referral and a pain relief script. And that’s on top of the $50 for gas.”
Reed is on a living allowance and would normally pay $19 to see the doctor in Reefton, where GP visits are heavily subsidized.
“I’m lucky I could afford the $57, but I wonder how many other people from Reefton just don’t go to the doctor because of the cost. It’s not just the doctor’s fee — it’s the cost of going there.”
Cost involved
Phil Wheble, general manager of West Coast Health, said last month that no Reefton patients had been sent to Greymouth to see a GP and there would be no charges.
Reed says Te Nīkau’s staff knew she was a Reefton patient.
Wheble did not directly respond to questions from Newsroom about whether the policy had changed, how many Reefton patients had been charged, and whether Reed would be reimbursed.
“Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention,” he said in an email. “We will be in touch with the affected person to discuss and apologize for any inconvenience this situation has caused.”
Nurses and GPs still provide primary care in Reefton, either in person or via telehealth, and the wait for an appointment is 10 days, Wheble said.
Lisa Neil, who runs Reefton’s voluntary social service Who Cares, says Reed’s case is not an isolated one and the situation is causing serious problems for some patients who need to see a GP in person.
“We had a family last week where the father had a flare-up from a work accident and had to sign his ACC form by a doctor, but they couldn’t get to Reefton and they were sent to Greymouth.”
The parents waited five hours unseen at Te Nīkau hospital and had to drive back to Reefton to pick up the children from school, Neil says.
Gasoline on top
“They eventually found a doctor in Westport who could sign the ACC form, but by then they were almost broke and we had to run over them. So all on, almost 400 km and a lot of stress later, they finally got the cancellation. But it cost them $65.”
Gas bills are rising weekly as Who Cares volunteer drivers take people to medical appointments, Neil says.
“We can’t get the costs reimbursed, and neither can the patients, even though one or two have had help from WINZ.
“So on top of this cost to GPs that shouldn’t have happened, people who can’t afford it have to pay $50 for gas to see a doctor 50 miles away. This just doesn’t work.”
On July 15, Reed was still waiting to hear from West Coast Health.
“I’m not too worried about the money, although my husband is, because he has a pension. But I hope they can fix this for other people who decide not to go to the doctor because of the extra cost. That’s why I raised this.
“I know the health system is pretty broken everywhere, but in small isolated towns like Reefton, people are more vulnerable, and it’s starting to feel a bit Third World compared to what we had.”
The Ministry of Health pays travel costs for people to see specialists, but not for general practitioners, according to its website.
Newsroom has twice asked West Coast Health to explain its stance on the charges against Reefton patients who have to go to Greymouth to see a doctor.
* Created with support from the Public Interest Journalism Fund
