Half of GP’s trained overseas
Dr Muhammad Awais, who is originally from Pakistan, and Dr Marjolein Peters from the Netherlands have recently moved to Taupō to take up roles as GPs.
Keeping local families healthy is becoming an increasingly international affair, with one Taupō GP practice welcoming two new overseas doctors.
By Milly Fullick
Taupō Health Centre has hired the additional doctors to increase capacity, reduce waiting times for patients, and open the books to new patients who may be struggling to find a GP in the area.
Dr Muhammad Awais, who is originally from Pakistan, and Dr Marjolein Peters from the Netherlands have recently moved to Taupō to take up their new roles.
Both GPs bring talents beyond experience in family medicine. Both are fluent in English, but Dr Peters also speaks Dutch, and Dr Awais also speaks Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi.
Taupō Health Centre CEO Vicki Beker says there is “no deliberate strategy” to target overseas doctors when recruiting for new staff, but no applications were received from New Zealand-trained GPs despite the length of time the vacancies were advertised.
“We had been trying to recruit for up to two years, and we only got traction with our two new GPs mid-way through last year.”
Primary care and other medical fields in New Zealand have long turned to overseas staff to make up the recruitment shortfall.
Nearly 900 new doctors are needed annually to keep up with population growth and to replace leaving and retiring staff, but domestic medical schools only produce around 550 new doctors each year.
The process to bring the new GPs to Taupō Health Centre is lengthy; all new medical professionals to the country must undergo checks and a registration process, along with the personal hurdles needed to live and work in New Zealand; Dr Awais relocated from Ireland, where he had been working for three years, and Dr Peters moved from the UK with her partner and children.
It was all well worth it to bring extra capacity to the Health Centre team, Vicki says.
“Having the two new doctors arrive has been such a relief for those patients in need of health care in the Taupō community.
“We can now open our register so that patients can have access to their own GP rather than having to pay under the casual rates, which are substantially higher.”
Data from the Medical Council of New Zealand shows that 42% of GPs and 43.5% of all doctors are international medical graduates who completed their initial training outside of New Zealand.
The majority of these doctors trained in England, with South Africa, Australia, Scotland and India making up the rest of the top five.
In the Lakes region, under which the Taupō district falls, 48% of GPs are overseas trained.
As well as a growing population, the primary care sector's challenges include an ageing workforce.
The average age of a GP was 53, and the most recent Workforce Survey from the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners found that nearly two-thirds of Aotearoa’s GPs plan to retire in the next seven years.
Both new doctors say they are pleased to be settled into working in Taupō, where they hope to remain on a permanent basis.
For Dr Peters, it was a holiday to New Zealand that helped make the decision to move here.
“We were stunned by the beautiful outdoors and thought it would be very special for this to become a part of our daily lives.
“The community feel and proximity of the beautiful outdoors - those views! - are amazing.
“I feel very lucky having had the opportunity to move here.”
Dr Awais said he was especially drawn to the region for its “excellent work-life balance and beautiful natural environment”, as well as its community.
“It's a privilege to serve in a place where people genuinely care for one another.”
Taupō Health Centre is welcoming new patients to register with Drs Awais and Peters. See taupohealth.co.nz/new-patients/ or call 07 378 7060 for more information.