General practice is in the middle of a "slow earthquake"
We have seen a rising burden of disease in the communities we serve as people age and more people live longer with more conditions. Governments have finally understood the rising costs of care in secondary settings, and acknowledged the need for more preventative healthcare to keep more people well and out of hospital.
Technological advances mean our patients quite rightly expect us to do more for them and indeed we now have the opportunity to expand investigations and treatments in primary care that were previously only available in a hospital.
At the same time as the pressure and opportunity to do more grows, we are seeing the consequences of the lack of training in general practice in the 1990s and the continued lack of investment in primary care with a workforce crisis of mammoth proportions.
These factors combine to create a "slow earthquake" that is no less destructive than the more obvious ones New Zealand experiences from time to time.
Practices are collapsing, providers are falling apart and services are fragmenting - the ground isn't shaking but all the same destruction is happening around us.
In an earthquake our first response is to drop to the ground, find cover and hold on until the shaking stops. In this slower but no less dramatic event, we also need to take urgent action to look after ourselves. Taking this analogy further we need to:
Let's face it, if we don't look after ourselves, no-one else will. If we are unwell we are not capable of looking after others, which is what we went into this profession to do.
"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens."
- John Homer Miller
Jo Scott-Jones, Clinical Director
drjo@pinnacle.health.nz
027 475 0488
The Te Tumu Waiora integrated mental health and wellbeing service has been up and running in general practices in Taupō and Tūrangi since July 2019. The response from practices and the community has been overwhelmingly positive.
Read moreThe Clinical Informatics Award is back in its sixth year, promoting the value that clinicians bring to whānau and community in providing data and digitally enabled care. The 2024 award is open to anyone with a clinical background and an interest in clinical informatics: this can be an individual or a clinical team, so get nominating today!
Read moreThis service is designed to support a co-response team where mental health clinicians, kaimahi Māori, Police and St John will work together when responding to mental health emergency calls.
View detailsIn addition to Pinnacle MHN primary mental health services, here are some other alternatives that may be available.