Time for some magic

When I was living and working in Hong Kong this was a magical time of the year. We had the Christmas and New Year celebrations, this was mainly celebrated by the ex-patriot community but supported with gusto by the local shops. The hotels, usually part of a Western chain, competed amongst themselves with their festive food festivals and their Christmas lights. The Holiday Golden Mile in Nathan Road was a particular favourite for its Bavarian cakes and biscuits [stollen for the cognoscenti].

For the Hong Kong Chinese this was all an hors d’oeuvre to the Lunar New Year a celebration that brought the city to a halt. This year 2007 [or more correctly Chinese Lunar Year 4704] begins on February 18th and is the Year of the Pig. People born in the Year of the Pig are chivalrous and gallant. Whatever they do, they do with all their strength. For Boar Year people, there is no left or right and there is no retreat. They have tremendous fortitude and great honesty. They don't talk much but have a great thirst for knowledge. They study a great deal and are generally well informed. Boar people are quick tempered, yet hate arguments and quarreling. They are kind to their loved ones. No matter how bad problems seem to be, Boar people try to work them out, honestly if sometimes impulsively. Sounds rather like Kiwi GPs!

So here we are now, even after Waitangi Day, no more breaks until Easter, looking forward to 2007

Will the Ministry of Health achieve the things they set out on their agenda for the Year of the Pig?

Back in November before our year-end celebrations began, there was the gathering where the Minister and Ministry focused ahead. They would be talking to DHBs, they told us, about how important primary care is, and how important was “seamless interactivity”

The more the challenges rise to the reduction of DHB waiting lists, the more there will be realisation that properly integrated primary care can make significant difference in this area alone. Vocationally registered GPs should be able to clinically refer patients for the appropriate tests or scans, and to make the decisions on whether the ailment can be treated within primary care or if indeed referral for First Specialist Appointment is clinically appropriate.

If secondary intervention is required, then the patient goes to the specialist complete with test results. Diagnosis doesn’t need to wait for a second appointment. Treatment can immediately proceed at a point where the condition is more manageable that what it will be in another six, or 12, or 18 months.

The College is currently estimating hospital waiting lists include 20-25 percent of people are there because hospital waiting list managers won’t let GPs hold budgets for diagnostic services.

The College has said several times we’re willing to talk now about this, we’re ready for the action for which the Minister calls.

The progression of this solution falls significantly within the clinical field, not in the managerial realm.

So what’s the hold up? Let’s talk about improving the health of all New Zealanders, about improving the quality of their care. Let’s work together. Let’s get some action.

And we like the bit about Boar Year people. There is no retreat.