Problems providing medical services to rural areas

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 18, 2 October 1984, Page 6

Problems providing medical services to rural areas

New Zealand still has maj or problems in providing medical services to a shrinking rural population, according to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Agriculture, Mr David Butcher. He told an international congress on rural medicine in Christchurch that New Zealand still has some way to go in providing complete health services to rural areas. Mr Butcher quotedan example, taken from a survey of women in rural areas, of a farmer's wife who could not obtain contraceptives from the only local doctor because he would not prescribe them. "She and her husband had two more children before they moved to another area and another doctor," he said. Mr Butcher also mentioned the problem of maternity services being

closed as people drifted to towns. "We have yet to develop ways of expanding the health services offered to keep many of these facilities viable," he said. "Many farmers are deprived of their best workers when the needs of their families for medical services and education outstrip the capacity of small rural communities." Rural workers were also placed at a disadvantage by the compensation system of the Accident Compensation Corporation. "The custom of the remuneration of rural workers containing payments in kind does not fit easily into the scheme," he said. "The untaxed free house, free meat, power and wood are not included in the definition of income so their compo is smaller."