Rural GP lives 'outside comfort zone'

The spontaneity of rural practice has kept Havelock GP Dr Buzz Burrell working in rural areas for 16 years.

Burrell, who spent eight years in Reefton and four in rural Australia before moving to the Marlborough town in 2006, said the "much broader spectrum of skills needed" was key to his decision to work in rural towns.

"There's more excitement, more spontaneity, more autonomy: you spend a lot of time outside of your comfort zone."

Burrell said he would "do well" to work less than 80 hours in an average week.

"On an ordinary day, you could treat anything from a bee sting to a head-on smash with a car full of brittle-boned haemophiliacs."

Burrell said the Government had only recently begun to understand the realities of rural healthcare.

"They had these Auckland and Sydney consultants coming in and telling us how to run our practice, but they don't know what it's like living in Springs Junction – now they're having their eyes opened."

However, he was optimistic about the future of rural practices, with new training schemes and financial incentives encouraging doctors to move to rural areas.

"I'd say rural GPs have been saved from death, they were dying ...they're getting better."

Burrell enjoyed the chance to build relationships with patients in a "more intimate setting" than that of an urban GP's practice.

- © Fairfax NZ News