Perfect start for new practice

IMPROVISING: Cate Mills (left), Annie Walden and Katie Snyman took enrolments in a caravan while renovations were being done. 010814SP6

Three Rotorua GPs have ventured out on their own to create a new "old-fashioned general practice".

The Three Lakes Clinic opened this week on Pukaki St, the first time in 30 years a new Rotorua general practice had been set up from scratch, according to Cate Mills.

Dr Mills and co-owners Annie Walden and Katie Snyman were previously colleagues at the Ranolf Medical Centre but all three harboured a desire to own their own practice.

Katie Snyman (left), Cate Mills and Annie Walden in their newly renovated surgery.

"It's something we always wanted to progress through to in our careers," Dr Mills said, adding with all three women's children now at school it seemed the perfect time.

She said their motivation was being able to provide "the type of care we really want to provide for people" - using a holistic approach driven by each individual - taking into account factors such as their family, where they lived and their personal philosophy around health care.

A major focus is ensuring the three doctors get to know their patients and they get continuity of care, so patient numbers will be capped and no locums will be used at the outset.

"We want it to be like an old-fashioned general practice," Dr Mills said.

Leaving established jobs to go out on their own wasn't a decision made lightly.

"There's a lot of risk, financial risk," Dr Mills said. "We're starting from scratch, starting from zero patients."

They've had to purchase medical equipment, computer systems and have done extensive renovations to their Pukaki St house base.

"We wanted an old school [looking] general practice that was central," Dr Snyman said.

The old house was last used by Workbridge but had been a general practice many years ago, which was "lovely for us", she said.

As well as the financial outlay, there was also the emotional side of the move. All had been at Ranolf a long time - Dr Mills for 17 years, Dr Walden 12 and Dr Snyman four.

"Leaving our old work was an emotional challenge," Dr Walden said. "We knew it would be difficult for our patients ... Some people understood that we couldn't say anything [for legal reasons] but a lot didn't and felt abandoned."

Dr Mills said they'd had to become businesswomen as well as doctors. The business and administrative side of running a practice was never something they'd had to worry about before. In the last few months, they've got to grips with consenting, council regulations, medical regulations, accounting, insurance, marketing and many other new skills.

All agree money wasn't the motivation for opening the practice, but acknowledged it was a business that operated to make money.

"But that sits alongside this really strong goal of providing very good care," Dr Mills said.

The practice also incorporates Atawhai Abuse Services - providing a 24-hour on call service for victims of sexual abuse.

Dr Mills said anyone who'd been abused could get care, they didn't have to have a police or hospital referral.

For the weeks leading up to Monday's official opening, Dr Mills' retro caravan was parked up the front for them to take enrolments.

"It's always hard to predict but we've had a really good response," Dr Snyman said.

And on Monday, the caravan was gone and it was all systems go at the new practice.