Patients in one rural Northland town have to wait at least a month for appointments or travel more than 45 minutes to Whangārei, thanks to “a perfect storm” of doctor shortages.

This week, Dargaville Medical Centre made the “difficult decision” to temporarily stop its Sunday GP, urgent and emergency care services for its 12,000 patients.

Dargaville patients who fall ill or have an accident on a Sunday either have to wait a day to be seen, travel 58km to Whangārei’s White Cross or call an ambulance on 111.

Dargaville GP Dr Neil Hopkins​ said the measure is temporary, to ensure the GPs that are left do not burn out while the centre tries to recruit more staff.

The shortage has seen the centre’s 12 full-time doctors drop to about four and patients would have already noticed a long wait to get a routine GP appointment.

“They often have to wait four to six weeks, maybe even more, for a booked appointment. When they do see us, they come with a list [of ailments].”

The centre prioritises the most unwell but is the only medical centre in west Kaipara, Hopkins said.

While the situation is not unique to Dargaville, doctors are hard to recruit to the town due to the after-hours commitment which is not required in bigger centres like Whangārei, he said.

Dargaville also has no dentist and struggles with other professional services.

Maxine Kinvig​, Dargaville community advisor for Alzheimers​ Northland, said Dargaville Medical Centre is excellent at squeezing in patients with dementia who need to be seen by a doctor, sometimes even seeing them after hours.

“They try to take care of our Alzheimer’s people, probably to their own detriment.”

Those who are not pushed through will often wait four to six weeks to be seen, she said.

The idea of travelling to Whangārei is very difficult for Dargaville elderly, with about half not driving and those with dementia suffering stress over the long drive, Kinvig said.

“It becomes a huge deal – I know for a fact some of them haven’t gone [to a doctor in Whangārei] because they just can’t manage it.”

One farming couple, Rodney and Julie Cotton, were so dismayed by the lack of health services in Dargaville they decided to buy a former dental surgery in the town to create a healthcare space.

The Cottons recently moved from Auckland’s Wellsford to Pouto and were horrified at the thought of having to make a three-hour round-trip to Whangārei for health or dental services, Julie Cotton said.

“Dargaville services a great large area,” she said.

“How do you say to people, ‘don’t get sick on a Sunday’? There’s always a great deal of people who put off an illness because they can’t take time off work.”

A podiatrist, a physiotherapist and a Whangārei dentist have already shown interest in working out of the Cottons’ healthcare rooms in Dargaville.

However, attracting more doctors and dentists from overseas is very difficult due to the sign-off and extra training required, Julie Cotton said.

Dr Samantha Murton, president of the Royal NZ college of General Practitioners, agreed it can be hard to get overseas GPs – not only because of the extra training needed but because New Zealand is competing with every other country.

The doctor shortage has been caused by a “perfect storm” where GPs have been undervalued both financially and in professional sentiment.

“It’s totally looked down upon … [yet] you have to have the broadest and most in-depth knowledge of everything.”

On top of this, general practice has an ageing workforce and many Kiwi doctors are enticed overseas.

Murton did not see a turnaround in the industry until GPs are valued financially and better recognised for the life-saving work they do.

Hopkins said despite the demands, working as a GP in a rural clinic is hugely rewarding.

“It’s never boring – you see lots of interesting things.”

Dargaville patients are urged to call Health line on 0800 611 116 for information about where to go if they need after-hours care.