Vice President steps back through ill health

Media Statement
From the president of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners,
Dr Jim Vause

Vice President steps back through ill health

The vice-president of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, Rangiora GP Dr Lorna Martin has elected to step down through ill health.

“I am facing two lots of orthopaedic surgery in the near future and I felt it was not fair to the College that I would be unable to perform my duties for an extended period,” Dr Martin said.

College president Dr Jim Vause has reluctantly accepted her resignation, and extended the best wishes of all colleagues for the best outcomes for the shoulder and knee surgery.

Dr Vause preceded Dr Martin as chair of the College’s Professional Development Committee before both assumed office in July last year.

“Ironically,” he said, “we emphasise the importance of self care for GPs and that is exactly what Lorna must first do.”

Dr Vause has appointed Meadowbank (Auckland) GP Dr Jonathan Fox to replace Dr Martin. A former chairman of the College’s Auckland faculty, and currently a member of the College Executive committee, Dr Fox’s appointment was unanimously ratified by the College council this week.

He qualified at Guys Hospital, London 1974, completing his house surgeons years at Guys before going to sea with the Royal Navy as a Submarine Medical Officer for three years, then completing his general practice vocational training with a two-year tour in Hong Kong. He left the Navy with the rank of Surgeon Lt Commander.

A man with a “lifelong passion for quality general practice”, Jonathan Fox has been in general practice in Auckland for 14 years since he and wife Judith (also a fulltime GP in the Meadowbank practice) immigrated from the UK in 1990. They have two children, both at university.

A director of ProCare Central, Jonathan Fox was awarded a ProCare Quality Award as “most respected GP” in 2002.

ENDS

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