increase font size
NZ Rural General Practice Network chair Dr Fiona Bolden.
Dr Fiona Bolden says the rural health services are under huge pressure.
She says there are plenty of places where you can't even see a GP at all and adds that rural hospitals are having real difficulty trying to see people.
Bolden says many in the rural health workforce are coming up for retirement and have just about had enough. But she says many are staying on out of a sense of responsibility to their communities and many are burnt out.
"The rural health service is limping along on the good will of its people and is further complicated by what's happening with nursing," she told Rural News. "Nurses working in practices get paid far less than those working for the DHBs and practices get no funding for nurses."
Rural News did approach the Minister of Health's office for comment, but they did not respond.
In an ever-changing world, things never stay completely the same. Tropical jungles can turn into concrete ones criss-crossed by motorways, or shining cities collapse into ghost towns.
The Government wants to make sure that rural communities get a level of service that people who live in cities often complacently expect.
Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) says it welcomes recently announced consultation on Pharmac’s funding of ostradiol patches used by women going through perimenopause and menopause.
The director of Otago University’s new virtual Centre for Rural Health says there’s no one, single fix to the burgeoning staffing crisis facing the sector.
As the National Rural Health Conference 2024 approaches, Fiona Bolden, chair of Hauora Taiwhenua, and Grant Davidson, chief executive of Hauora Taiwhenua, talk about the conference's significance in addressing rural healthcare challenges.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
Balclutha farmer Renae Martin remembers the moment she fell in love with cows.
Academic freedom is a privilege and it's put at risk when people abuse it.
All eyes are on milk production in New Zealand and its impact on global dairy prices in the coming months.
Claims that some Southland farmers were invoiced up to $4000 for winter grazing compliance checks despite not breaching rules are being rejected by Environment Southland.
According to the most recent Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, farmer confidence has inched higher, reaching its second highest reading in the last decade.
