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Porirua Doctor Shortage

Your Money Or Your Life

By Gyles Beckford

The struggle for satisfactory medical facilities began several years ago when another group tried to organise a petition, but failed to get enough public support. The matter lapsed until one of the few doctors in the district announced that he was giving up his practice. People suddenly realised that 8,000 patients would be left without any form of regular treatment. At this stage Mrs Dianne Braithwaite and other local women organised a petition to encourage more doctors to the area and to promote the establishment of a Health Centre for use until the long awaited Porirua Hospital is built.

The Health Group's petition has at the present time 5,000 signatures. The Group has held numerous meetings with the Health Department, the Hospital Board, the Porirua City Council, and other interested bodies. The most recent meeting was held on March 4th, at which the Hospital Board offered a site it has in Mulgavin Avenue, which would be used as an ante-natal out patients department. At the same meeting a steering committee was set up to get things going but so far it has yet to meet. There was a unanimous feeling on March 4th that Porirua should be given top priority in the building of the new hospital. After rumours that the Ministry of Works had asked its employees in Porirua not to take their annual leave because they would be beginning work on the earthworks for the hospital site project, it seemed that a start might be made before Christmas, but the work never began.

The petitioners feel they are being put off by government bodies, especially the Health Department which has proved to be totally unhelpful, saying all the time that it is only an advisory body. The Wellington Hospital Board has also been a hindrance to the group in its bid to get better medical aid for the area. Besides all the usual procrastination that goes with bureaucracies, the Board sent out a circular dated 13th September 1971, asking all doctors to send any patients requiring X-rays or laboratory tests to private facilities because the local hospital could not cope. So while the people of Porirua are busy paying private enterprise, Social Security services have gradually been allowed to run down.

Porirua residents have been further hindered by the attitude of some of the doctors. Many people believe they have discouraged other doctors from settling in the area because they are afraid that they will lose business and money. This is not too hard to believe when one considers that the average charge is $2.50 for a visit to the surgery which often lasts no longer than a few minutes. Most of the doctors refuse to make housecalls until they know they will be paid. In many respects the residents feel that they are being held to ransom — their money or their lives. There have been cases where people have died because of the lack of medical facilities.

In one case a man suffered a heart attack, but the ambulance refused to come and help until they had heard from a doctor. When a doctor was finally found he forced the man to walk about a hundred yards over rough ground and down an alley without any assistance. The result was that the man suffered a second heart attack, which was fatal. His widow tried to find another doctor to support her in a charge of negligence against this doctor, but although many agreed privately that the woman had a definite case no one would publicly say so.

There was another case in which a doctor prescribed drugs over the phone for the treatment of a child whom he had not examined. The result was that the child died because the medicine was not the correct type. The doctors are not taking any more new patients — one sign on a surgery door read "No more patients can be taken. Please go elsewhere", but Where?

One of the most pressing problems is that of the maternity cases. The closest maternity hospital is the one at Kenepuru, but there is no resident obstetrician there and the authorities refuse to take anyone who does not have a doctor's letter. Since many of the pregnant women cannot get to a doctor they find it impossible to get satisfactory treatment during their pregnancies. One woman was berated by a doctor because she was 7 months pregnant and had not had any sort of medical treatment. But it was not her fault that no doctor would see her.

School children are also presenting a serious problem because of outbreaks of headlice, fleas, and scabies. The responsibility for diagnosing any sickness has been placed on the teachers. Parents, obviously, have become most concerned that the health of their children is in danger, because of the general lack of medical advice. As time goes on the situation becomes increasingly serious and difficult to solve.

The solutions are few, and not one can be said to have the full backing of all groups. The Health Department has said there are 18 doctors who could be tempted to come to New Zealand if local residents would find houses, surgeries and equipment. However, this proposal was rejected by the Health Group when it was stated that the doctors would only be bound to stay in the area for 2 years and then would be free to leave. The Group felt that they could be subsidising doctors for the rest of the country. The Health Group is pressing for the establishment of a Health Centre which it feels is the only short term solution until the General Hospital is built. The Health Department could designate the Porirua district a special area, and could under certain regulations direct doctors to live and practise there. However, the department denies that it has any such powers to do this in urban areas.

The organisers of the petition are growing angrier as the days go on, and few seem to have any confidence that the petition will have any success. They have heard from high medical sources that the money for the Hospital is available, but that the government does not want to commit itself to the building of it yet. If the petition fails the people of Porirua feel they will have some justification for taking any strong direct action. In the meantime the government has not yet made any decision, and the local doctors are still demanding cash on the nail for an atrocious service.