University of Otago rural medical immersion students (from
left) James Heaton and Matt Restieaux, with Pat Farry Rural
Health Education trustee Sue Farry, of Queenstown, and
Queenstown Medical Centre (QMC) chief executive Dr Richard
Macharg and student Thomas Kuperus, in Frankton, in March,
before the students experienced Australian rural health
care on QMC sponsored trust scholarships. Photo supplied.
The disparity in rural health care resources between New
Zealand and Australian is "glaringly obvious", a University of
Otago medical student, who worked in East Gippsland, Victoria,
courtesy of the Queenstown-based Pat Farry Rural Health
Education Trust, says.
Matt Restieaux (23), a fifth-year Christchurch campus
student, was one of three rural medical immersion students
awarded the inaugural trust scholarship funded by $5000 from
the Queenstown Medical Centre. The others were Thomas Kuperus
(22), of the Dunedin School of Medicine, and University of
Otago Wellington campus student James Heaton (24).
Mr Restieaux worked in the Heyfield Medical Centre, which
served a population of about 2000, and the Gippsland Base
Hospital in Sale, which served a population of about 40,000.
He said the hospital services included a CT (computed axial
tomography) scanner, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), three
theatres, intensive care unit, paediatricians and general
medical physicians.
"The hospital was comparable in both size and services to
Invercargill. However, it served a population of almost
one-third the size. During my time working at Sale the
differences in quality and modernity of the equipment
compared with Lakes [District] Hospital was glaringly
obvious."
Mr Restieaux said the medical centre in Heyfield, which was
similar in size to Balclutha where he grew up, was staffed by
three GPs, two GP registrars, medical students, nurses and
receptionists.
"Same-day appointments were readily available. The reasons
for this may be attributed to the increased pay available to
rural doctors in Australia, compared to New Zealand," he
said.
"The very remote rural areas in Australia are very hard to
staff and rely heavily on locum doctors. The general
day-to-day problems associated with rural practices are also
shared, such as the great distances from secondary and
tertiary care."
Mr Heaton and Mr Kuperus were based at Bairnsdale in rural
Victoria, a teaching centre for Monash University students.
They spent time at the hospital emergency department and
operating theatres, at Cunningham Arm Medical Centre and at
the Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Co-operative.
They believed New Zealand was addressing indigenous health
more effectively. One aim of their trip was to make
observations about their rural health practices and relate
them to Queenstown and New Zealand's health services.
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