Aranui health service lack alleged

Press, 5 September 1987, Page 9

Aranui health service lack alleged

By

GABRIELLE HURIA

Community workers in the Aranui-Wainoni area are concerned about what they see as a lack of health services in their district

The Aranui-Wainoni community co-ordinator, Ms Mary Harrison, said that in comparison with other areas in Christchurch the services were insufficient. “I have residents complaining to me ail the time about the shortage. Patients sometimes have to travel to New Brighton or Linwood to see a doctor and without private transport this can be difficult. If they are new to the area they often cannot even get on a doctor’s books,” she said. Ms Harrison said the increase in doctors’ fees was also making it hard for people. When transport costs were added to the problem of paying medical bills it could result in people with serious medical conditions not going to the doctor. As a result of the growing concern about the adequacy of services, a public meeting has been arranged at the AranuiWainoni Family Centre on Monday at 7 p.m. “It will give people the chance to express their opinions and perhaps some alternatives can be looked at,” Ms Harrison said. A community officer in Aranui, Mrs Bunny Mathews, said that when a one-income household was trying to support an extended family, a $22 visit to a doctor or a $5O after-hours house-call was out of the question. "In the past homeless families that we have placed in motor camps have had to use Health Department services,” she said. People using outpatients departments at public hospitals have been asked to go back to their general practitioner. "These people go to outpatients because they cannot afford a doctor and yet they are being denied what I think is a public service,” she said. Mrs Mathews attributes the problems to the rapid rate of change in Government policies. “If health services are going to be pushed on to the community we need more financial support

and resources to deal with the problems.” She felt that a lot of medical problems were caused by social factors such as when people were laid off work or could not find employment. In such times their health and mental state suffered. “The Government needs to acknowledge this and make provision,” she said. “As community workers in this area we need assurance that assistance or medical aid will be given when it is required. We also need to know how much it will cost.” Both Mrs Mathews and Ms Harrison knew of cases where people had waited three days to get in to see a doctor. One neighbourhood worker involved in the new mother-support groups, Mrs Maureen Kimer, described the situation as appalling. Some mothers were not taking their children to the doctor and the children’s health was suffering as a result. She said they were afraid of the expense and often could not face a bus trip with a sick child and two or three other small children. The district nurse formerly based at the Aranui Family Centre was now based in Shirley and made visits to the area. A principal public health nurse, Miss Dawn Bridge, said the move out of the area was only temporary while more suitable accommodation was sought. Services were being maintained but the nurses felt they needed rooms that were more accessible. The president of the Canterbury division of the Medical Association, Dr Keith Gibb, said there was a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week medical service in Christchurch. The Emergency Medical Centre has about 130 doctors registered with it. Doctors worked to a roster and fixed charges had been worked out with the Health Department. Charges for after-hours consultation included

i transport costs. Dr Gibb said the nor- ' mal adult after-hours charge was $4O plus $22 i for a taxi. A pensioner : was charged $36 and a I $22 taxi fee. For a child, i the charge was $2O and I $22 taxi fee. “These call-out charges t are considerably less than ; those of most other trades : people let alone professionals,” he said. ; Dr Gibb acknowledged ■ that the fees might be • difficult for some people i to meet but he felt the. s responsibility lay with the r Government for not increasing the general I medical benefit. ’ After consulting the I Wainoni Medical Centre, t Dr Gibb said urgent medical cases could always be I fitted in at the centre. ! The Christchurch Medit cal Officer of Health, Dr i Bill Malpress, said the s Aranui-Wainoni district was included in the east Christchurch area, which t has about 30 doctors. i “New Zealand has an average of 1.8 doctors for every 1000 people and I compared with many s parts of New Zealand, I Christchurch is way i ahead,” he said. "There are at least one or two doctors on more arterial roads from the ; city centre.” s Dr Malpress said the ; Health Department could I not dictate where doctors in the private sector set up practice. i “It would be highly unethical to direct doctors to an area where other doctors are practising,” he said. In contrast to seven years ago there were four additional doctors and a registrar in the AranuiWainoni area. “Doctors working in the peripheral areas also say there has been a reduction in patients coming from Aranui and Wainoni, largely because of the increase of doctors there,” said Dr Malpress. The Aranui-Wainoni district had been targeted by the department as a highpriority area, he said. ! As a result, a team of . medical officers and nurses had studied ways ; to improve the health serI vices of the area.