‘Person’s right’ to get doctor

Press, 16 August 1980, Page 23

‘Person’s right’ to get doctor

Every person should have the right of easy access to a doctor, said the president of the Royal College of Physicians (Dr Kerr Grant) in Christchurch.

Dr Kerr Grant, of Adelaide, who is in Christchurch for a meeting of the college, - said that the surplus of doctors predicted in New Zealand and Australia by 1985-86 inevitably raised questions in the minds of the consumers of medical services about the availability of doctors.

He said that consumers had both a duty and a right to indicate if the services were inadequate. “They may not always be correct in their assertions, but they have this process to go through.” Many doctors were motivated to support ■ groups who considered they were not getting adequate services. It was a fact of life that tile general practice would remain the cornerstone of medical services in the com-

munity, but the way these worked once the doctor surplus became evident would bring about many changes. A ' team approach using many more doctors, each working fewer hours than at present, was one way in which the workload could be rationalised. Increased numbers of women doctors would also mean that some male doctors could opt to work part-time, giving their professional skills to other areas as well, such as social work. “The many avenues open to general practitioners once the surplus is felt will obviously be a matter of careful study,” Dr Kerr Grant said.

“The profession as a whole, for example, should recognise the importance of a wide range of para-medical services within the new arrangement”