GP's resignation leaves town with one doctor

By REBECCA WALSH

The central North Island town of Turangi will soon have only one fulltime doctor to care for more than 4000 people after the resignation of one of its two GPs.

Dr Vaughan Leigh will finish work at Pihanga Health at the end of next month. His resignation will worsen a severe doctor shortage in the area - a third doctor was already being sought to help cover the workload - and reflects the battle many rural communities face in attracting and keeping GPs.

Turangi, whose population grows to 15,000 during holidays, once had four fulltime GPs, but from November Dr Frank Liaw will be the only one.

In a letter published in the Turangi Chronicle, staff working with Dr Leigh said he had been under huge stress dealing with about 2000 patients. National guidelines recommend GPs care for 1200 to 1400 patients.

Turangi/Tongariro Community Board chairman Don Ormsby said the situation had gone from "ridiculous to outright ridiculous".

"We now have only one fulltime doctor. We don't want any more pressure put on him or otherwise he will be pulling the plug."

Mr Ormsby said the board had written to Health Minister Annette King outlining its concerns, pointing out it was a "small-town New Zealand problem". It had received a letter in reply but nothing had changed.

"We won't let it go. We are not one of those areas that sits on our hands and does nothing."

Lakes District Health Board spokeswoman Sue Wilkie said although the latest resignation was worrying, the Pihanga surgery had secured cover until a permanent doctor was appointed.

"There will be locum cover when Dr Leigh finishes up and I think that's the critical thing right now."

The shortage in Turangi did not come as a surprise to Dr Tim Malloy, chairman of the Rural GP Network.

"General practice as a whole is fragile and rural general practice reflects that more acutely."

Dr Malloy said such an excessive workload meant the sole GP at Turangi would "at best" be able to provide only superficial care.

At last count, two years ago, New Zealand was short about 100 rural GPs.

- additional reporting, NZPA