Bringing Homegrown Doctors Back The Key To Strengthening Regional Healthcare

With Kiwi doctors shifting to Australia in record numbers, healthcare in the regions is under more pressure than ever. Local Health, a network of practices supporting more than 30,000 patients across the Manawatū, says that the key to bucking this trend is making sure homegrown talent is attracted back after their medical studies.

Registrars Matthew Prouse and Eliza Mudgway both left the region to study, spending time at Otago University and the University of Auckland. Having returned home years later, they’re eager for other doctors to discover what life as a regional GP is really like.

Working at Feilding Health Care means Mudgway spends her days just down the road from where she went to high school. “Being able to serve the community that brought me up is really special,” she says. “I regularly see people who were part of my younger life, even my previous teachers. It’s great because we have an existing level of trust.”

For Prouse, it was always in his ‘game plan’ to come home, but it took some time. “I was actually working in child cancer research, but during it, I realised I wanted to do something more on the frontlines - working with people and helping them day-to-day.

“In rural communities, it’s harder to get access to specialists, to private options, and there’s some real inequities. We need more people supporting the health of New Zealanders, and general practice is a great place to do that.”

Both registrars spent time in hospital placements, but saw what was possible within a GP role. “One of my placements was with Feilding Health Care, so I could come here as a junior doctor and see if this was what I wanted to do,” says Prouse. “Some people think it's the easy option, but a senior doctor I knew said being a GP is the hardest job in medicine to do well. You have to know so much about such a broad range of cases. It’s challenging, but absolutely rewarding.”

Both doctors say that the environment they’re working in makes a big difference. “In our practice, there’s a really supportive team culture,” says Mudgway. “We can ask questions, work with other doctors, and there’s allocated training support. The better work-life balance also means I’ve been able to get back into old hobbies. I can give more to my patients when my cup is full - it makes me a better doctor.”

“I think the way we’re working should be the standard for health practices… But in other places, it’s just not there yet.”

If New Zealand wants enduring regional GP workforces, Local Health CEO Nicky Hart says homegrown doctors need to be treated as a strategic asset. “That means strengthened pathways into rural practices and regional hospitals, supporting mentorship and training, and recognising that general practice is a high-skill career option.

“When we invest in local doctors and bring junior ones into the fold, it means we’re investing in continuity of care, and in the lasting health of our region.”

Or, as Prouse puts it, “When you know your patients well, you can tell how they’re doing just by watching them walk down the corridor. That’s the level I want to get to.”

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