Kiwi medical students sample rural health Australian-style

Kiwi medical students sample rural health Australian-style

A disparity in available resources between Australian and New Zealand rural health care services was one of the major differences noted by fifth year Otago University Christchurch campus medical student Matt Restieaux who recently spent time working in East Gippsland, Victoria courtesy of the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust.

Matt 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) from the Dunedin School of Medicine and University of Otago Wellington campus student James Heaton (24).

Matt, aged 23, was based in Heyfield and worked at the local medical centre, which serves a population of about 2000 and at the base hospital in Sale, which serves a population of about 40,000. The hospital services included a CT scanner, MRI, three theatres, ICU, paediatricians and general medical physicians.

“The hospital was comparable in both size and services to Invercargill however 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 Hospital was glaringly obvious,” says Matt.

In Heyfield, which is similar in size to Balclutha where Matt grew up, the medical centre was staffed by three GPs, two GP registrars, medical students, nurses and receptionists.

Same day appointments were readily available, says Matt. “The reasons for this may be attributed to the increased pay available to rural doctors in Australia compared to New Zealand,” he says.

Another noticeable difference was the greater number of Australian trained GPs, which he put down to superior pay rates and working conditions.

He also noted the difference in student training systems and facilities in medical centres and at the East Gippsland School of Medicine compared to those he had experienced in New Zealand.

However, there are numerous problems that New Zealand and Australian health systems share, adds Matt.

“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.”

James and Tom were based at Bairnsdale in rural Victoria, a rural teaching centre for Monash students. They spent time at the Bairnsdale Hospital emergency department and operating theatres, at Cunningham Arm Medical Centre and at the Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Cooperative.

Although Australia and New Zealand experience similar rural health care problems, James and Tom believe New Zealand seems to be addressing indigenous health more effectively.

One aim of their trip was to make some observations about their rural health practices and relate them to Queenstown and New Zealand’s health services.

ENDS