Doctors 'failing to recognise abuse victims'

By Andrew Stone

Victims of domestic violence are missing out on care because doctors sometimes fail to detect signs of abuse, health experts say.

Otara general practitioner Dr Faye Clark says many stressed and busy family doctors mistake symptoms of abuse for other illnesses or might be too embarrassed to delve into a patient's background.

As a result patients who need help for abuse leave clinics with sleeping tablets or prescriptions for headaches.

Dr Clark,who sees victims of domestic violence every day at her Baird's Rd clinic, believes that with simple training many doctors could diagnose abuse before it impacted deeply on individuals, families and communities.

"It may just involve asking a patient if they are suffering abuse at home and then knowing where to go for the right services," Dr Clark said yesterday.

The South Auckland GP belongs to Doctors for Sexual Abuse Care, which wants more funding for training health professionals in intervention. It argues that an alert medical work force could slash the economic costs of domestic violence, estimated at more than $1 billion a year.

Although doctors receive some training while studying, the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners agrees more could be done. Chairperson Dr Ralph Wiles said: "The feeling we have is there's probably not enough and we'd welcome someone stepping in and providing training."

Just two health-promotion staff in the entire country work in family-violence prevention, training health staff, supporting education campaigns and designing protocols for emergency clinics.

Onehunga GP Dr Helen Gardyne,who has written a booklet The General Practitioner and Partner Abuse because "of what I saw coming through the door," said many female patients had trouble admitting what was happening at home.

Dr Gardyne also saw men "who are not proud of what they are doing and want to stop."

She said patient consent was always sought before other agencies got involved unless grave safety fears existed.

Last night a Health Funding Authority spokesman, David Graham, said the Government had asked the HFA to give the issue priority. Extra funding was being sought for next financial year.

The curriculum director of the Auckland University Medical School, Dr Phillipa Poole, said undergraduate students got an introduction to topics relevant to domestic violence, but most training related to specialist areas.