Flaxmere GP who started free healthcare for mums honoured with Distinguished Fellowship

Flaxmere GP Dr Sandra Jessop has been awarded the Distinguished Fellowship of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. Photo / NZME

A Flaxmere GP who started free healthcare for mums has been awarded the Distinguished Fellowship of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.

Dr Sandra Jessop was one of six GPs accorded the honour at the College's three-day conference in Wellington.

The fellowship honours more than 30 years advocating for and serving her local community, implementing initiatives to make healthcare more accessible for local families.

In 2019, Jessop and her team made the decision to give women under 30 free access to healthcare at their Totara Health sites in Flaxmere and Hastings.

By removing the cost barrier, the initiative highlighted the importance of women's wellbeing, and remains in place.

"We decided to make GP and nurse visits free for women under 30 as these are the mothers of our pēpē and tamariki and we think that is it important to promote health and wellbeing for this group so they can care for the next generation," she said.

Distinguished Fellowships are awarded to Fellows of the College who have made sustained contributions to general practice, medicine, or the health and wellbeing of the community.

College president Dr Samantha Murton said: "The loyalty Dr Jessop shows to her community epitomises the role of a general practitioner.''

Jessop's commitment for teaching showed in roles she had taken on within the College. She has been the chief examiner for the General Practice Education Programme (GPEP) for many years and has hosted numerous registrars in her practice and has taken on a visiting GPEP medical educator role.

Hastings District Council Flaxmere ward member Henare O'Keefe, who had Jessop as his "personal physician", said she had served Flaxmere well for "much more than two decades''.

There had always been a shortage of medical practitioners in the area, and the arrival of Totare Health had relieved some of the difficulties for people seeking treatment, including cost of "getting into town."

"At the end of the day, people have got to take some responsiblity for their health, some seek treatment when it's too late," he said. "But the cost is a part of it, so having this type of health service where the need is most is a bonus," he said.

Among her service has been sponsoring the Flaxmere Heroes calendar for "more than nine years."