Not Enough Doctors For State Practitioners

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31764, 22 August 1968, Page 7

Not Enough Doctors For State Practitioners

A shortage of doctors meant that there would be insufficient applicants for the appointment of State medical officers to staff country areas, Dr J. M. Louisson, liaison officer for the Canterbury Division of the New Zealand Medical Association said in reply to a correspondent of “The Press.” “Reader,” in a letter to the editor of “The Press,” asked: “Would the liaison officer for the North Canterbury division of the Medical Association of New Zealand tell readers what valid objections there can be to appointing State medical officers in those areas where private practitioners refuse to go? The Chatham Islands has been declared a special area and a salaried resident medical officer is to be appointed. Now what reasonable objections can there he to the same course being

followed in the 50 or so country areas of New Zealand where the people cannot get medical aid? If our doctors prefer city practices and dislike maternity work, would it not be in everyone's interests if they did the kind of work they liked, and left less attractive work to State medical officers directed by the Department of Health?” In reply. Dr Louisson said: “There are already some 30 special areas in New Zealand and these are kept staffed with considerable difficulty. There is a steadily decreasing number of special medical bursars qualifying each year (about 13 this year where there used to be 20), and it appears that few doctors will go to these isolated areas unless they are bursars and entered into a contract to do so. “There is a general shortage of doctors and with the greater sophistication of medical techniques this shortage will increase until the new graduates appear from the Auckland Medical School in six years time, and it is difficult to predict what different factors may be influencing the demand foi doctors after this. “The overriding valid ob-

jection to ‘Reader’s’ suggestion of increasing the number of special areas is clearly that there would be insufficient applicants for the positions.

“A further objection would be that such a service entails a frequent change of doctor and this is not entirely satisfactory to the patients over a long period. “The Chatham Islands area is a special one with particular features because of its geographical position and it, therefore, would always get top priority for a doctor, and thus cannot readily be compared with other areas.

"One other comment must be made and that is to correct ‘Reader’s’ suggestion that our doctors dislike maternity work. Most doctors in fact like maternity work, and a number of these who refrain from it do so because they dislike some of the terms they must work under. “The obvious solution is to improve the terms rather than change the whole system, and co-operative negotiations are entered into at regular intervals between doctors and the Health Department to make the system for maternity work more efficient and attractive.”