Val Miller, who’s practised locally for 40-plus years, was a partner in the Wakatipu Medical Centre (renamed The Doctors Whakatipu) when it sold to Green Cross Health (GCH) in 2021 — NZX-listed GCH owns 66 clinics nationwide.
At the time she welcomed the takeover because running an ever-growing business, with clinics in both Frankton and Shotover Country, was becoming more stressful.
"From my personal point of view, it will take a huge weight off my shoulders and hopefully enable me to go for much longer," she told Mountain Scene at the time.
However, Miller, who finished on December 31, says she had a different approach to GCH.
"I still liked to practise general practice in the way that I was trained — the corporate model is not quite the same as the old [model].
"I think the face of general practice has changed very much in the last 10 years because there has been less available government funding."
Miller, who also served two terms on the local council, says she "absolutely" loved looking after families over a long period — "I’m looking after the children of the children" — and it meant she could sense when something wasn’t right with a patient.
"Where general practice is changing now is there’s not the room to have that depth of knowledge."
She feels sad for patients who’ve only known her as their doctor.
"I’ve been absolutely touched by some of the things people have said, it’s been very heartwarming.
"The gratitude I have to the community for having me work with them for the last 40-odd years is enormous."
Though of "retirement age", Miller says she’s taking a short breather before taking on some freelance work — "a little bit more focusing on doing procedural work, minor surgeries and gynaecological procedures and things like that, because a lot of the young GPs actually don’t do a lot of the things I do".
"I’m very happy to teach young doctors if they want me to, but I don’t think the corporate model particularly embraces that sort of thing any more."
