That is something disputed by the Roxburgh Medical Services Trust that runs it.
A Roxburgh woman said the turnover of GPs in Roxburgh robbed patients of any continuity of care as they did not have a consistent doctor, and she blamed the trust.
"When I asked the trust there they say it’s because GPs are ‘hard to find and retain in rural areas’."
She believed other factors were at play, the trust was "extremely difficult", and employment contracts varied substantially from the expectations put on GPs.
Her comments come after the trust announced on March 4 it was "disappointed" to report Dr Paul Krinyak had given notice to terminate his contract — four months after the trust announced his appointment.
The announcement of Dr Krinyak’s departure coincided with notice given by Dr Chris Mulholland, who wished to focus solely on his Alexandra practice after working Fridays since 2019, but Dr Leon Dittrich had agreed to delay his retirement.
Dr Mulholland said it was "fair enough" Roxburgh residents had concerns about turnover but his decision was based on him and his wife becoming part-owners in Health Central and so they could spend more time with their 17-month-old twin sons.
He praised the medical staff he worked with.
Roxburgh Medical Services Trust chairwoman Kate Hazlett said the trust had been let down by Dr Krinyak but his case did not compare to previous cases.
"He resigned within four months of a 12-month contract and gave us two days’ notice."
He had been employed through an agency and the trust had been "forensic" in investigating the circumstances of his departure, she said.
She considered herself to be "fairly new" in the role and many of the previous resignations were before her time, Mrs Hazlett said.
"There’s a whole bunch of circumstances and no two circumstances are the same."
She said doctors struggled with the expectation of the role — to provide 24-hour care due to the clinic’s distance from hospitals.
Many of the medical staff were long-serving and were committed to their jobs despite the strain placed upon them by GP turnover, Mrs Hazlett said.
A former GP at Roxburgh Medical Centre echoed Dr Mulholland in heaping praise on the medical staff at the practice, instead laying blame for problems at the feet of the trust at the time and the day-to-day management.
The doctor detailed concerns including not feeling supported or listened to by the trust that was serving at the time and hoped to be the catalyst for improvement.
Some change had happened and concerns did not relate to medical staff, who were "amazing".
"To have suggested improvements dismissed as not possible and medical knowledge not taken on board — and if a doctor doesn’t feel supported then a doctor starts to break down and moves on."
Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners medical director Dr Bryan Betty said this tended to be an issue when trusts ran a practice.
"GPs feel they don’t have a control over [a] practice and how it operates — GPs do like to have involvement in services and how they are delivered."
Often those in charge did not share the same medical knowledge as those they employed.
Roxburgh’s situation was in stark contrast to that of the GP-owned Ranfurly Medical Centre where Dr Verne Smith has served the community for 31 years and has a locum visit once a week.
He had lost count of the number of doctors who had come and gone from Roxburgh, he said.
