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Guardian
Ashburton
Monday, April 8, 2013
FIRST PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 27, 1879
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Full house for local GPs By Sam Morton Mid Canterbury doctors will make every effort to see casual patients this winter, despite already juggling a hefty workload, GP spokesperson Rachel Norman says. For months, new residents have struggled to secure a full-time doctor in Ashburton, with waiting lists bulging and resources at full stretch.
And the situation doesn’t seem to be improving any time fast. However, Dr Norman is confident people will be able to see a GP, regardless of registration, as doctors gear up for another bumper season throughout the district. “It’s difficult to know exactly what every centre is and what each doctor has on their plate, but I’d say most of us are at capacity and I know with myself, I won’t be enrolling any new patients for a short while,” Dr Norman said.
“However, I am sure we will all make every effort to see casual patients, if they are genuinely in need – and if one practice can’t, then it is likely another one might be able to.” Of course, with the privilege of being a casual patient, Government subsidies don’t apply and residents will be charged the full fee of almost $100 per visit. Dr Norman, who works at Sealy Street Medical Centre, said the centre had stopped enrolling
patients, new to the area, and had even ceased waiting lists. “We found that too many people would put their name on the list and then when there was a genuine gap that had opened up, often the person had already found another doctor or had gone out of town for medical assistance. “It’s very much dependent on each practice what they do, but I’d say it’s unlikely anyone has plenty of spare gaps ... it’s a case of doing the best with what we have and
it’s been that way for a fair while,” she said. Dr Norman believes nurses operating at most practices will become the hidden key to a successful winter, as doctors shrug their shoulders for another year of stretched mayhem. The expectation is practice nurses and other advisory staff will help carry out initial check-ups, before deciding if a GP is further required, ensuring valuable time is not wasted.
Other medical centres spoken to by the Guardian confirmed they were at full capacity, but few chose to comment. According to a Moore Street Medical Centre spokesperson, the doctors were “going to plod on”, but would not be taking on new patients in the coming months. “It’s always been tough for our town’s GPs, but they continue to do a fantastic job under very trying circumstances,” she said. However, the medical centre, like
most others, will see patients on a casual, one-off basis, with the slim possibility of developing a professional relationship with a GP and securing them as a regular health professional, part-funded by the Government. Meanwhile, the private medical centre being built on the corner of West Street and Queens Park Drive probably can’t come soon enough for most doctors. It is expected to be open by April next year.
Jobs, jobs and more jobs POLL QUESTION
By Susan Sandys Mt Hutt Ski Area management are hoping Mid Cantabrians, with or without experience, will apply for more than 20 jobs available this coming season. Positions listed on the nzski. com website include lift operators, groomer drivers, terrain park crew, ski and snowboard technician, shuttle bus driver, live-in custodian, chef, barista, food and beverage team leader, administration assistant, guest services assistant, media and events coordinator, and courtesy patroller. The latter role is to “ensure everyone is having fun on the slopes safely, with no-one out of control or going too fast”. And when it comes to who is eligible for those positions, a smile and good attitude is just as
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important, if not more so, than experience. Ski area manager James McKenzie said many of the positions were “ideally suited” for people living in the district, and he is hopeful of getting plenty of applications from the area despite a hot job market as the Christchurch rebuild takes off.
“They don’t necessarily need experience, they need a passion for customer service,” he said. In addition, a love of skiing or snowboarding would be a big plus. The closing date for applications is April 19. Applications were coming in, however “we would be pleased to receive more”, Mr McKenzie said. The ski area attracts workers from throughout the world, many keen to combine earning with the experience of working on the snow. Mr McKenzie said the ski area relied on returning staff each winter, and he believed Mid Canterbury residents would have a higher likelihood of returning in future winters. Mt Hutt is also advertising for a ski area doctor and casual nurse this winter.
Private Twamley will be returning at the end of this month and it is no surprise his family are counting Ashburton soldier Corey Twamley down the days – as they have done is getting closer to his first bite at since his departure. Burger King. He has stayed in regular contact The Ashburton private was with them via Skype and Facebook, deployed to Afghanistan with the but this month’s return will be a last Burnham troop in September, certain homecoming to remember. but after months of angst and Meanwhile, a convoy of heavily uncertainty, Private Twamley is just armoured military vehicles nearly days away from his homecoming. 1km long on Saturday stopped outThe New Zealandside the site where led Provincial two gigantic 6th-cenReconstruction tury Buddha statues Team (PRT), which once loomed above has been central to a Bamiyan townproviding security ship. The Taliban and development in destroyed the Bamiyan for the past Buddhas in 2001. 10 years, will leave Soldiers posed for good by the end of for waiting media, this month. intending to show Private Twamley’s that Afghanistan’s family can’t wait for security forces are his return. A close now capable of proCorey Twamley family member, who tecting the region on chose not to be identheir own – and from tified, said they never wanted him their own. With the withdrawal of to go and urged him to have a dif- US and international forces, the ferent career. people of Bamiyan have only other However, Twamley followed in his Afghans to blame for any continufather’s footsteps and joined the ing tension. army after finishing his schooling at A group of New Zealand digniAshburton College. taries, including Governor-General Before he left, Twamley was excit- Sir Jerry Mateparae and Defence ed about Burger King being built in Minister Jonathan Coleman, travhis childhood town. elled to Bamiyan last week to see But duty called and he spent his what will be left behind. first Christmas away from family Afghan and New Zealand authoriand friends. ties have been at pains to assure By Sam Morton and APNZ
that the province will continue on its track to peace and prosperity after the transition. Yet the abundance of armed personnel on nearly every street corner in town suggests the peace is fragile. The province remains one of the poorest and least productive in the country – its 500,000 residents largely live hand-to-mouth. Provincial Governor Habiba Sarobi, who the New Zealand Government and others have lauded for her inspirational and progressive leadership, told media the Kiwi-led PRT had “changed the face of Bamiyan” in the past 10 years. She had previously requested the PRT stay past this month’s deadline, but she acknowledged that 10 years was a long time and that the Afghan people must go on without them. Sarobi was confident Bamiyan would remain one of the safest regions in Afghanistan. There is no permanent Afghan National Army presence in Bamiyan – a concern raised by provincial police chief General Abdul Razak – and the local police force has taken on a paramilitary-style role as the first line of defence. New Zealand police Commissioner Peter Marshall said the Afghan police, whom the PRT trained from 2005 until the end of last year, had married this approach with traditional policing, and were now selfsufficient.
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Local soldier coming home
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Hampstead bowlers (from left) Barbara Robinson, Hope McIntosh and Colleen Hands walk off the Tinwald Bowling Club for the last time.
Sun sets on Tinwald Bowling Club By Jonathan Leask They had known the day was coming but the day finally dawned as the Tinwald Bowling Club closed its doors for good on Saturday. The Tinwald green and clubrooms were purchased by the New Life Church in 2010 and the club knew then it signalled the countdown to the club’s closure, and the clock struck zero on Saturday. “Once the facilities were sold we
knew it was a month by month thing,” said Gavin Eder, president of the now defunct Tinwald Bowling Club. “When (the church) expressed to us that they would need the clubrooms on the weekend and we couldn’t use it at it, that was it.” Without the clubrooms, the club couldn’t operate properly so they made a unanimous decision to fall into recess at the end of the season, and that day finally came on Saturday. It was sombre day but the club,
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which officially opened in 1966, tried to make the most of its final day. “It was just a fun roll-up playing the odd end left-handed and that sort of thing and then we lowered the flag. “It was pretty emotional moment and there were a few tears on the green.” In total 28 Tinwald bowlers were joined by about 50 bowlers from around the district for the club’s official closing. “It’s not just the Tinwald mem-
bers who will miss the green, because a lot of the bowlers at other clubs have been playing there for years and it has always been a good green.” With the flag lowered, the bowlers went for a “last supper” to celebrate the end of the club. “That’s it. All done and dusted. We just have a few things to tidy up around the place but the club’s officially done. “Now it’s up to the individuals to find a new club if they want to continue playing,” Mr Eder said.
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