Farewell and happy hello as Ōtaki Medical changes hands
When Dr John Sprunt arrived in New Zealand in 1990, the plan was simple: nine months here, then head back home to Scotland’s west coast. Thirty-five years and a lifetime of Ōtaki families later, he’s preparing for retirement and making sure the practice is in good hands.
“If you work in a community, you see the grandparents right through to the children – it’s the thing I’ve enjoyed most. A woman brought her baby in to see me, and her opening line was ‘You delivered me’. Way back in the 90s, when we were still doing deliveries! It’s a good reminder of how important healthcare providers are in people’s lives.”
Dr Sprunt steps back in November, when Ōtaki Medical will join Local Health, a clinician-led network of four practices based in the Manawatū.
“Our patients’ day-to-day care won’t be changing. The faces you see at reception and the clinicians you trust will be the same people you see tomorrow, and the day after that,” says Dr Sprunt. “I don’t think the community realise how many there are in our team – 24 people, including GPs, nurse practitioners, nurses, extended care paramedics, chronic disease management and administrators.”
Deciding who would carry the practice forward took three years, and he says he’s had five different offers in that time. “For me, it was about looking forward. I’ve known Nicky Hart, their CEO, for many years, and I know Local Health’s kaupapa around health. People come first, the voice of the clinician matters, and they already know the way we practise medicine here. I know they will be a good fit for Ōtaki.”
Nicky Hart says their priority is protecting what’s already working. “John and the team have built something special in Ōtaki. Our role is to give them long-term support and stability, so patients know the care they rely on is secure for years to come.”
Hart and one of their GPs, Dr Amy Ikenasio, have already spent time down in Ōtaki, meeting staff and answering questions. “We had Dr Amy and Dr Ben Adams-Doolittle chatting away,” laughs Dr Sprunt. “We had to pry them apart!”
First on his retirement list is a holiday to see his son in Australia, and then it will be back into jobs around the house and the Rites of Passage community work he does with young men and their fathers.
“It’s been a high pressure job, and like everyone in health, I think about the things I could have done better. But I still have the thank-you cards people have given me around the house – it’s important to keep the good stuff too. It’s always been about the people.”
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