College of GPs celebrates World Family Doctor Day

Media Release

20 May 2013

College of GPs celebrates World Family Doctor Day

The fourth World Family Doctor Day was celebrated around the globe on Sunday 19 May, providing an opportunity to recognise the importance of family doctors and the work they do.

Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners President, Dr Tim Malloy, says, ‘The College is proud to mark World Family Doctor Day by recognising the vital role GPs have in our communities, as experts in caring for the physical and mental wellbeing of all New Zealanders. General practices have a vital role as the access point for a huge range of other services in health and beyond and are at the heart of every community.

‘Kiwis make around 55,000 visits to a GP each day and 14 million visits each year, but many wouldn’t know their family doctor may not actually be trained and registered as a GP.

‘Our aspiration is that all GPs in New Zealand are fully trained and vocationally registered in the specialism of general practice, as they are in Australia and the UK. We want to see New Zealand on the same footing as our OECD counterparts so we can guarantee Kiwis the high standard of care they would expect from any GP.’

The College is celebrating World Family Doctor Day on its Facebook page at facebook.com/RNZCGP and with GP profiles on its website at www.rnzcgp.org.nz.

The annual World Family Doctor Day is an initiative of WONCA, the World Organization of Family Doctors.

ENDS

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