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Rape victims may not get immediate medical attention over the summer holidays as Auckland's clinical service says it it does not have enough funds to provide complete cover over the vacations.
The Pohutukawa Clinic run by the Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) has informed the Auckland police, crisis counselling agencies and the Auckland sexual health service about the situation.
With only three part-time staff, the clinic - which sees about 400 patients annually - has subsisted for years on the goodwill of doctors giving their time freely.
"Currently, we are only able to provide the level of service we do by clinicians working in excess of hundreds of hours a year in their own time.
"We are forced to try and batten down the hatches and are thus having to cut back on some things," it said in a letter.
It has predicted "gaps" in providing medical and forensic sexual assault examinations from mid-December to mid-January as clinicians take their summer breaks.
Doctors who see rape victims after hours will also have to make their own arrangements regarding results and follow-up tests.
Moreover, no daytime service will be provided between December 21 and January 8.
An urgent meeting between the police, Ministry of Health, ACC and doctors in sexual abuse care in Wellington today will try to find a solution.
Kathryn McPhillips, clinical manager for Auckland Sexual Abuse Help, said a long wait for a medical exam could compromise a rape victim's psychological recovery.
The Pohutukawa Clinic's situation does not come as a surprise, as the lack of resourcing has been known for some time, she said.
"People need to start listening and providing immediate solutions in terms of resources."
Dr Janet Say, one of the doctors called in by the clinic, has come out of retirement to help over January and December because the clinic could not find a replacement.
"We're all burnt out. We've been covering this service for years, and there has never been enough financial acknowledgment that this is a health issue.
"People who are raped need health support after the rape, and they do need to have an ongoing service that is 24 hours."
Dr Say said a woman raped in the morning may not be seen until after hours when a specialist is available.
The health board's chief planning and funding officer, Denis Jury, said it is not funded to provide all services to rape victims.
"The sexual assault services for adults that the ADHB is contracted to provide is continuing, but this is not to say that these services will be provided only by Pohutukawa."
The board is in discussions with the Ministry of Health and ACC about how to develop a 24-hour sexual assault service.
For the past 10 years Dr Say and others have been trying to form a nationally funded service. Last year, police, Ministry of Health and ACC officials met to set up such a service.
However, a year later, nothing has happened, Dr Say said.
