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Index
General
consultations with the doctors and nurses of the health centre
are usually made by appointment. Appointments can either be
made by phone or by visiting in person. Listed below are the
Mornington Health Centre hours. Please note that our phone
lines are diverted to our on call Doctor.
When
you call, just let the receptionist know what time is convenient
for your appointment and they list all the free appointments
around that time. The earlier you phone the greater your chance
of being seen at your preferred time. Generally, patients
in this practice who book prior to late morning usually get
to see their doctor the same day.
It
is also a good idea to let the reception staff know how urgent
the appointment is and what it is for. Some procedures such
as first visits, insurance examinations, first antenatals,
surgical procedures, and personal problems may need longer
appointment times. Urgent problems will always be dealt with
immediately, however, it may not always be with your usual
doctor. If you have any concerns about the health or safety
of your children, please call immediately.
When
you arrive for your appointment, please let the reception
desk staff know that you are waiting. They will check your
name off on the computer so that your doctor knows that you
have arrived.
- If
possible, try to arrive a few minutes early. It is not uncommon
for the doctors to see patients earlier, particularly if
the preceding patient has not yet arrived or the doctor
is running ahead of time.
- If
you can't make your appointment please phone the reception
staff and let them know so that the appointment can be given
to someone else. Unlike many other health professionals,
missed appointments are not charged to you. Your courtesy
will ensure that it remains this way.
- Finally,
please be understanding when the doctors or nurses are running
behind time. They do their best to see you at the correct
time of your appointment, but being health professionals,
a number of instances occur daily that are beyond their
control. Most often, this is simply caused by patients arriving
late.
Home
Visits
With
the introduction of the courtesy coach, the need for home
visits has been greatly reduced. Even so, there are many instances
when a home visit may be necessary. The most common instance
is where the patient has lost their physical mobility due
to age, disease, surgery, or injury. Home
visits can be booked with any doctor at the Mornington Health
Centre. Because they require additional preparation and travelling
time, they need to be booked well in advance. Try to book
the visit a day or two in advance, or if this is not feasible,
between 8.00 am and 9.00 am on the day you require the visit.
Urgent visits will be booked immediately, but not necessarily
with your own doctor. Please
note that the fee structure for home visits is currently being
revised.
The
Mornington Health Centre has a number of dedicated phone lines
operating from the same number, 466-5011. For this
reason it is unusual to get a "busy tone". If all of the receptionists
are busy, you are automatically placed on a priority waiting
queue and your call is usually processed within a minute or
so.
You can also phone our nursing staff directly
on 466 5011 Option 2.
Our
nurses handle routine medical enquiries if your doctor is
busy seeing a patient. If you wish, the nurse can leave a
message for your doctor to call you back when they get a chance.
Please call the nurses on their direct line.
Each
of our doctors personally reviews laboratory results as they
are received throughout the day. If any of them are marked
as urgent, or if the doctor is concerned about any of them,
they will contact you personally to discuss them further. Otherwise,
our nurses handle all enquiries about laboratory results.
We advise all patients to telephone for their results, but
please:
-
phone
the nurses on their direct line,
-
wait
a least four days before requesting results to ensure that
they have all been completed,
-
phone
anytime between 8.30am and 5pm
When
you phone, please ask only for your own results (or those
of your children if they are under secondary school age).
The Privacy Act 1993 prevents us from disclosing any information
without the specific authority of the patient involved.
In
some cases it will possible for you to get repeat prescriptions
for certain long-term medications over the phone. Your doctor
will usually discuss this option with you during your appointment
and, if this option is appropriate, a note about the arrangement
will be entered into your patient notes. To
obtain a repeat prescriptions, you need to phone our nursing
staff on one of their direct lines. Because repeat prescriptions
still require your doctor's authorisation, you must phone
at least 24 hours before you require the script. You can also
specify whether you would like to pick the script up from
the health centre or whether you would like it faxed directly
to you family's preferred pharmacy.
Please
note that a small charge is applicable for this service.
In
the event that you need medical help outside our regular hours
of practice, please call the Health Centre on 466-5011. Your
call will be diverted to our on call doctor. Please
note that the Mornington Health Centre phone lines will automatically
divert your calls should you try phoning us when we are closed.
In this way, you always have access to quality medical care
— 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
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If
you require further information, please do not hesitate to
contact one of our reception staff on 466-5011 or by
email info@mhc.co.nz.
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