Rural hospitals in New Zealand: results from a survey.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the variety and range of work that New Zealand rural hospitals perform, and to examine the factors that might influence either of these, including: the characteristics of the doctors who work in rural hospitals; the facilities available; and environmental factors (such as geographical isolation and the size of the catchment population).


METHODS
Structured postal questionnaire.


RESULTS
There are about 44 rural hospitals in New Zealand, depending on definition. Catchment populations range from 750 to 45,000. They are staffed by either Medical Officers of Special Scale (MOSSes) or General Practitioners (GPs). They have varying levels of resources such as laboratory services and radiology services available on-site. They care for a wide range of patients and manage health conditions covering many different vocational areas of practice.


CONCLUSIONS
Rural hospitals should be defined and recognised as a distinct entity to assist the development of appropriate vocational training pathways for their staff. They play an important and unique role in New Zealand's healthcare system which is currently unrecognised.
Williamson
Martyn
M
Alexandra Medical Centre, Alexandra.
Gormley
Andrew
A
Dovey
Susan
S
Farry
Patrick
P
D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D006780:Hospitals, Rural / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000639:trends*; D009520:New Zealand; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires