Doubtless Bay gets new medical service

The idyllic coastal area was left without a general practice after the Coopers Beach Medical Centre closed suddenly last month.
Dr Neil Benson closed the centre on April 13 after a dispute with the Te Tai Tokerau primary health organisation.
The dispute centred around a general practitioner roster providing after-hours care in the Kaitaia and Coopers Beach areas.
A temporary GP and nursing clinic was set up by the Te Tai Tokerau Primary Health Organisation (PHO), the Northland District Health Board and Maori health provider Te Hau Ora O Te Hiku O Te Ika to plug the gap after the medical centre closed.
Te Hau Ora O Te Hiku O Te Ika has now decided to establish a full-time clinic at Coopers Beach.
However, the provision of after-hours care is yet to be worked out, Te Tai Tokerau PHO general manager Rose Lightfoot said.
Doctors in Kaitaia are providing after-hours care in the interim but a permanent arrangement is yet to be made.
The closure of the medical centre had caused deep concern in the community but residents were pleased that a permanent clinic would again be available, Mrs Lightfoot said.
A free shuttle to Kaitaia, 34km away, for people who want to visit a doctor there, would continue in the short-term.
"We're going to keep it going over the next couple of months but there hasn't been much demand. I would have thought people would have taken it on," she said.
Te Hau Ora O Te Hiku O Te Ika chief executive Bill Halkyard could not be contacted for comment.
Dr Benson was not on the general practitioner roster but had paid $450 to provide weekend and public holiday cover in his area.
The agreement ended when the six Kaitaia doctors asked Dr Benson to join the roster instead. He declined because he would have had to pay for the use of Kaitaia offices, supplies and staff, as well as overnight accommodation.
Dr Benson claims he was being railroaded into joining a planned "super clinic" in Kaitaia. Ms Lightfoot denies Dr Benson's claim.