By JUSTIN LATIF - Western Leader | Thursday, 05 June 2008

The 65-year-old great-grandfather has just graduated with first class honours in his masters degree at Auckland University.

But he says the 18-month research project that went into it wasn’t easy.

"It was hard work," he says.

"I was spending every second weekend in the office.

"It was a big jump up to that level of study and I even had to learn how to use a library again."

The Glen Eden based GP’s research led to the development of an internet-based system that he believes will help doctors save lives.

Cardiac problems were responsible for 30 percent of deaths in Waitakere city in 2004 and Dr Johnson says many could have been avoided if the patients were diagnosed earlier.

His web-based program – the first of its kind in the world – requires doctors to tick boxes on their screens as they work through a list of risk factors.

The information remains online to ensure important questions aren’t forgotten when patients are screened in the future.

Dr Johnson says the system will complement doctors’ knowledge of their patients and help them to be more efficient.

The Greenhithe resident also researches health trends in the Waitemata District Health Board region.

"I’ve been a GP in west Auckland for about 20 years," he says "You’re helping individuals and that’s about as far as it goes.

"But in my present role in population health I’m helping make changes in the whole district."

The father of four hopes to hang up the stethoscope in a few years and wants to do a bit more study.

"I would like to do a PhD," he says. "But it would be a stupid at my age.

"I probably need to spend more time with my family."

Dr Johnson has 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Most live in west Auckland.

But he says he wouldn’t have worked here if it wasn’t for Waitakere city mayor Bob Harvey. "I went overseas – made loads of money, spent the whole lot – and then came back," he says.

"Bob told me this was a great place that needed me.

"So he got me to come and do my work here.

"Over the years Bob has been very encouraging and a great person to work with and I’ve become very committed to the area."

And fortunately for west Aucklanders Dr Johnson didn’t pursue his original goal.

"Initially I wanted to do mining engineering but the department was about to shut down," he says. "So I did medicine at Otago University.

Dr Johnson also has plans to revisit some old haunts when things quiet down a bit.

"I lived in a lovely old Victorian house in Dunedin," he says.

"I paid two pound seven for rent and lived on one pound a week for food.

"I drove a motorbike and spent a lot of time at the Captain Cook pub.

"They were great days."

[Lannes is a previous committee member of the Greenhithe Residents and Ratepayers Association, and his wife Linda is the current Treasurer.]