GP: Be realistic on rising health costs
LYN HUMPHREYS
CAMERON BURNELL
Dr David Sampson
A long-serving Taranaki family doctor is calling for New Zealanders to get real about the cost of public healthcare.
"People are prepared to pay to go on an overseas trip but not prepared to pay for a hip operation," David Sampson said.
The 59-year-old retired last week from his sole practice in New Plymouth after nearly 33 years in general practice.
In a farewell interview with the Taranaki Daily News, Dr Sampson said he constantly heard complaints from people that "the Government should pay".
But it was hard to get through to people that it was essential to ration publicly funded healthcare for a community of 4.5 million, he says.
"The reason is because technically health is so expensive and the cost has completely billowed out."
There were now such technologies as CT scans, angiograms and MRIs all available through the public health system - all of which came at a high cost, draining the money available for essential services.
"People don't understand that we have a system with limited resources," Dr Sampson said.
At the same time he has always been prepared to lobby for his uncomplaining patients whom he believed should be seen by a hospital consultant.
"Basically you have to write a few snarky letters," Dr Sampson said, advising people to make their own complaints to their members of Parliament if they felt they were not getting fair treatment.
One unnecessary and wasted expense which he believes drains the public health system is having the Government pay out $600 to $800 a year for the medical alarms being worn by the elderly.
Most people who had them did not even use them, he said.
The needless cost on the health budget was "guilt-driven" because families put pressure on Work and Income to pay for the alarms, fearful that something might happen to their mum and dad. "Tell them to get a cellphone - they are much more useful," Dr Sampson suggested.
During the three decades he has practised as a sole doctor, he has seen the end of most doctors practising obstetrics.
It marked the end of the time when community doctors provided care to families from the cradle to the grave.
"For 17 years I brought babies into the world. But [former prime minister] Helen Clark came along and said midwives can practise alone.
"There were some bad years when the midwives became very anti-doctor. It was very, very unpleasant."
But midwives provided a better service than doctors, whose time was always limited, he said.
"I believe the service mothers are now getting is pretty damn good. The only problem now is the shortage of midwives."
At the same time, Taranaki was "incredibly well off" in the quality of its doctors and for the high level of hospital care available in the region, he said.
"I think Taranaki does incredibly well.
"The quality of GPs in this town is brilliant. And the hospital is brilliant.
"I think the service we get here is absolutely amazing."
He and his wife, Linda, who ran the business for him, have now sold their Merrilands-based practice to Carefirst and are heading to the Coromandel to build their retirement home in the sun.
During their years in Taranaki, Dr Sampson never shrank from placing himself at the sharp end of medical politics.
He came out fighting in the 1990s when there were proposals to cut back the region's public health services to "cottage hospital" status.
For 19 years he was the president of the Taranaki Medical Foundation and began education workshops for doctors.
He leaves the practice in good hands. It would be run by two Carefirst doctors, he said.
The couple said it had been an extremely difficult and emotional time saying goodbye to their patients.
They take with them a large stash of wine given to them by grateful patients.
"We have enough wine to be drunk for the rest of our lives," Mrs Sampson joked.
- ? Fairfax NZ News
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/8495773/GP-says-people-need-to-be-realistic
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