High-powered support for Waikato med school

Saturday, 24 August 2024

With rural New Zealand facing a dire GP shortage, the proposed Waikato med school has found favour with a leading doctor.

Luke Bradford, medical director of the College of GPs, said rural general practice is struggling with recruitment and retention of doctors.

“The doctors that they do have are struggling to keep up with the workload, the on-call hours, which are really intense,” said Bradford, who is a Tauranga GP.

Compounding the challenge, a study last year found mortality rates were higher in rural areas than major urban areas across all groups aged under 60.

“The argument, and it seems strong, that the Waikato medical school will increase rural GPs is really sensible,” Bradford said.

The proposed school is likely to produce 120 graduates annually, with a focus on primary care outside the main centres.

Bradford said those who gain rural experience in their med school and house officer years are more likely to then work in rural practice.

“Without a doubt, exposure - proper exposure, go and live in the community, experience it, do your learning there - means people are more likely to go back or stay.”

The College has described general practice as a workforce in crisis, and the Waikato bid comes amid a New Zealand GP shortfall estimated at 485, a figure that is set to grow.

New Zealand is estimated to spend 6% of its health budget on primary care, well down on the OECD average of 14%.

Some practices are struggling to find GPs at the same time as a cohort of GPs is reaching retirement age.

Adding to the pressure, Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network chair Fiona Bolden pointed to a “tsunami” of older people with complex needs as the population ages.

She said the Waikato med school had been built on successful overseas models aimed at boosting rural primary care.

“So if it's properly resourced and coordinated properly, and isn't just in Waikato - because remember, we want these people to be all over the country in rural places - then I think the model could be excellent, absolutely.”

Telehealth has been touted as a solution to the growing problem in rural areas.

“Good telehealth is good,” Bolden said.

“But the reality is that people still need people on the ground. You still need to be able to be examined. You still have urgent things that happen to you that need somebody to do something for you there and then.”

She said internet and mobile coverage in rural areas also needed to be addressed.

Waikato University’s bid to set up the Hamilton med school, which would be the third in New Zealand, has a new lease of life, after languishing under the previous Labour Government.

Early this year, the university signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Health to progress a business case. Capital costs were estimated at $380m with the Government to contribute up to $280m.

Cabinet is due to consider the business case by the end of September.