Psychiatrist puts N.Z. on the couch

Press, 14 August 1976, Page 4

Psychiatrist puts N.Z. on the couch

A British psychiatrist; working in Christchurch said. last evening that he thought; there was a syndrome — “I; think it could be called a; migration syndrome” — that should be recognised bv employers taking on immigrant workers. Dr J. Boulnois, a lecturer in psychological medicine at Christchurch Clinical School, had earlier advised six million Britons watching the television programme “Today,” to think twice before going to New Zealand He said last evening that it took months before he even got an office after arriving with his family last January. “For some reason what I thought I was going to get somehow didn’t happen, he said. “I believe there is a strong onus on the universities (Dr Boulnois was brought to New Zealand by Otago University) to employ a welfare organisation to deal with these problems — 1 am certainly concerned at the welfare of those who follow me.” The “Today” interview was made by telephone after comments by Dr Boulnois in an article in the fortnightly medical magazine "World Medicine.” In the article Dr Boulnois said of his decision to migrate “I must have temporarily taken leave of my senses.” New Zealand has a desper--1 ate need for doctors, but thev were not coming, and he felt that the experience of his family explained some of the reasons why. He told of his wife, Angela’s crying at the sound of “The Archers” theme on the radio, of making a pilgrimmage to the airport three months after their arrival, and added, "All we felt was an increaseing sensation of emptiness, despondency and an overwhelming desire to run away — anywhere.” Questioned last evening, Dr Boulnois confirmed some of the views he had written to the magazine readers. “I think New Zealand, compared with Britain, is in many respects in general at-

ititudes some years behind what I was used to in Britain,” he said. ; Of scenery, he said “I have inot yet seen anything which can't be equalled in Britain or Europe." However, Dr Boulnois conceded that he had not been able to get far away from Christchurch, even though he has his car, which he imported from Britain. “I have neither the money nor the facility to see the beautiful scenery,” he said. He confirmed that he had written of the smog problem, of Christchurch and also stated that New Zealand “closes down at week-ends.” Asked what he and his wife and child did at the weekends, Mr Boulnois said: “We stay at home.” He said there was a gross disparity between what hospital doctors were paid and what general practitioners received in New Zealand. “On my salary the amount I can afford to spend on going out means the times I go out are few and far between.” In his article Dr Boulnois commented on the paucity of licensed restaurants and the lack of choice in shopping. He said last evening: “We miss having a range of things to choose like you have in the chain stores in Britain, particularly in food.

“We find, for example, shoes and clothes very expensive here. I bought a sheet of glass arid it cost me $3.50 — an incredible amount. Pharmaceutical things are incredibly expensive, and no doubt I would find the same if I wanted to buy a car. But its the lack of choice more than anything.” In his article Dr Boulnois claimed that he had been misled about housing and other conditions. “The universities of New Zealand should be honest and persuade the organisations that represent them in the United Kingdom to be the same. “I do not mean that they are being deliberately dis-

honest, but I do mean that the facts they give are open to so many interpretations, that they become irrelevant and misleading." Dr Boulnois said in the article that he understood he would get accommodation, but was forced into buying a house before he had the opportunity of finding out whether he liked it. Asked if he felt he had been deliberately misled about conditions in New Zealand, Dr Boulnois said: “Yes. I feel we were specifically (misled but I don’t feel able to make it stronger than that.” However, he dismissed as “unadulterated kibosh’’ a claim yesterday by the University of Otago Registrar (Mr D. W. Girvan) that Dr Boulnois’s complaint was an isolated incident. The Christchurch Clinical School is governed by Otago University. It paid for Dr Boulnois to come to New Zealand, and he arrived in January with his family. Dr Boulnois said that he had met a lot of people with considerable problems. “Most probably keep their mouths shut, and others feel they have their jobs at stake.” Mr Girvan said yesterday that housing undoubtedly caused some problems, but most of these had been overcome in the past, even after, in some cases, a period of some initial difficulty. The university’s general information statement to prospective staff members says: “Every effort is made by the university to have either temporary or permanent accommodation available for a new member of staff from the time of his arrival.” Most arrangements have worked out satisfactorily in giving a staff member suf ficient opportunity to find e more permanent home, the statement says. Dr Boulnois had kind words for New Zealand citi zens in his article. He sai they were usually “oper friendly, and overwhelming! kind.”