It had been almost a decade since I was last a New Zealand resident (yes, I was one of the thousands who fled overseas in the 12 months following the Christchurch earthquake), and boy, it's nice to be home.
But, it hasn't been smooth sailing.
While setting up camp has been easy in the most part, there has been one element I'm really struggling with. Healthcare. And yes, I know, I know, I agree, it seems relatively important to have health and wellbeing taken care of in the midst of a global pandemic.
But, for love nor money, I cannot find a family GP.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not coming to you from some tiny, population-less-than-100 town, like Ohura. No, I'm talking about a typical kiwi family of two parents, two young children, living just 4km away from Christchurch CBD.
There is no shortage of medical clinics within a moments' drive from our home. But can they take us? No. No matter what I try. And trust me, I've tried. I telephone between 6 and 10 clinics every month. All of them are within a couple of minutes' drive or kilometres drive from my home. And the answer is always no.
The reason? Well, according to the empathetic receptionists who are frankly sick of my calls, it's because of a doctor shortage, and population growth. Simply, there are not enough GPs, and more people are moving into the area (sometimes due to immigration, like us, but other times because of property development or similar).
It seems unheard of. That we can be New Zealand citizens, working and living in a bustling capital city just a stone's throw from the CBD, and yet we can't find a family doctor.
For the majority of our 14 months back on NZ soil, we have muddled through without a GP. Yes, we have all had Covid-19, and relied heavily on our own preparedness, telephone consultations from the Ministry of Health Covid team and care package deliveries from friends and family.
It felt uncomfortable, and added worry to an already scary situation, but we were fine in the end. Things didn't feel so fine when my 2-year-old daughter, mind you, perforated her eardrums and was struck down with croup, and we had to attend the 24 Hour clinic and wait for several hours in the car park while she sobbed in pain.
That said, we were grateful the consult eventually happened, and got her the help (and medication) she needed. But it's the more routine healthcare that we are really at a loss to obtain. I'm talking vaccinations, specifically. My daughter is now 14 months behind in her vaccinations, having been unable to get her 15-month-old jabs, while my 4.5yo hasn't had his 4-year-old's jabs or health check, as he starts working towards school readiness.
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners has been calling for more action from the Government for some time. RNZCGP's medical director Bryan Betty told me there's plenty of reassurance from the Government, but not enough action.
"This has been developing over 20 years. The College has been in continual contact with the Government over this [but] we have stressed the importance of it now that it is becoming very pronounced".
The reason for the shortage is multifaceted, according to Betty.
"The international doctors that we are very reliant on have stopped coming into New Zealand".
Betty says New Zealand is also not training enough GPs, and the hospital system pays better.
There's also a RNZCGP's study from 2020, which revealed the average age of a GP in New Zealand is 53, and some 50 per cent of them are planning on retiring in the next decade.
And all this, as journalists like me are on air, letting Cantabrians know Christchurch Hospital is operating well over capacity (109 per cent as of this week), and the CDHB is pleading them to keep the Emergency Department for times of real need.
Well, that's all fine and good, if New Zealanders had another option, like, perhaps, a family GP!
*Claire Sherwood is the South Island news director for Newstalk ZB
