Dr Mark Taylor, a Hamilton-based GP, has been awarded a Community Service Medal by The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners for getting his patients faster access to secondary care.
Throughout his career Dr Taylor has been instrumental in working with his local District Health Board to ensure his community had the appropriate access to chest x-rays and ultrasounds so that investigations could be made in a timely manner.
This has made a huge difference to GPs being able to manage their patients through increased access to necessary healthcare, faster referral times and diagnosis, and ultimately improved results for patients.
College President Dr Samantha Murton says, “By working behind the scenes to address an issue such as faster access to x-rays and ultrasounds, Dr Taylor has improved the health of his patients and created better health care for everyone in his community.”
Throughout the COVID-19 lockdown, Dr Taylor arranged for Waikato GPs to speak directly to General Medicine Senior Medical Officer’s (SMO) to diagnose and come up with treatment plans for patients as a way to reduce hospital admissions during this very busy and uncertain time, as well as organising funding for the GPs for the extra work that was involved.
The Community Service Medal recognises members of the College who have made an outstanding contribution to general practice through work in their own communities.