Michele Hunter: No easy fix to health professional shortage - but we need them

It takes a special person to sit with a new mum and tell her the tricky feeding, sleepless nights and feeling of being totally overwhelmed will honestly pass, writes Michele Hunter. Photo / Stock Image

OPINION

Crisis is an emotive word that teams up well in headlines with the likes of economic, education and cost of living. But when New Zealand's current health crisis hits everyday services, the hype seems quite believable.

I called for a GP appointment earlier this week and was told I had a six-day wait ahead of me. It was Wednesday morning and there were no appointments available for the rest of the week – not with my doctor or with any doctor.

In most cases, if you call your GP it's fairly time sensitive. You've already given it the "wait and see test" or taken the ''ignore it and she'll be right" approach. By the time you make the call, it's generally something you need to address sooner rather than later.

Don't get me wrong - this is not a dig at the clinic or the GPs. They are clearly stretched to capacity and must be feeling the weight of a two-and-a-half-year pandemic.

My concern is that it doesn't seem like an easy fix for this Government or any other. GPs are worn out, some are retiring and I don't suspect there are queues of graduates lining up to replace them.

This year, I've had to email a photo of my son's foot to the clinic for the GP to look at it, take a punt that a GP would have a phone consult spot available to prescribe antibiotics and have an awkward chat with a medical receptionist whose current job must involve trying to determine the seriousness of a situation without asking too many curly questions.

It's concerning this is happening at primary care level – the community's first line of healthcare before hospital care.

Meanwhile, some of the nurses in these bursting GP clinics say they feel undervalued by the Government. A group of them – including 40 to 50 Tauranga nurses - rallied across the country this week, asking for the same pay as their hospital counterparts. This seems reasonable to me.

In the same week, more than 1300 midwives announced they were taking the Ministry of Health to court, demanding the extra pay and support they've been promised.

And outgoing Plunket chief executive Amanda Malu warned further services will be cut if the Government doesn't plug a $1.3 million funding shortfall for the critical Kiwi service.

Six weeks post-partum, a good midwife and a reassuring Plunket nurse can be the difference between a thriving happy mum and baby - and a complete family meltdown.

When my second child entered the world with what health professionals called an "unplanned homebirth" I was extremely grateful to have an experienced midwife on the other end of the phone – so was my husband.

I met that midwife when she decided to "help out" my current midwife (who had two people in labour at the same time) at the lengthy delivery of my first child.

It was her husband's birthday but I guess he and her own children were used to her missing events from time to time. It comes with the nature of the job.

I firmly believe people who work as nurses and midwives are born, not made. It takes a special person to work in a busy medical centre or hospital, caring for others at their most vulnerable.

A special person to sit with a new mum and tell her the tricky feeding, sleepless nights and feeling of being totally overwhelmed will honestly pass.

First-time mums look forward to their next midwife or Plunket nurse visit, and there's plenty of reassuring texting and phone calls that go on in-between times.

Midwifery never stops and these people should be remunerated accordingly.

Often they are as much counsellors and cheerleaders as anything else and they deserve the same support from the Government in return.

What could be more important than funding to support new babies and their parents to give our kids the best start in life?

I'm sure being a GP, midwife or nurse are hugely rewarding jobs, but they must take a large toll on the individual and their families.

Fair pay and adequate support shouldn't be something these heroes should ever need to fight for.

I for one could not do their jobs and I thank them hugely for what they do.

Michele Hunter is a local business owner, mum of two school-age children and a former Bay of Plenty Times chief reporter. She is Tauranga born and bred - with opinions on most things. You'll often find her by the water – sea or lake - enjoying all this great region has to offer.