If you have concerns or questions relating to the Coronavirus please phone 0800 358 5453 – it is free and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week OR visit the MOH website https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus.

If you have symptoms of Coronavirus and have travelled to or from the following countries China, Iran, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore or Thailand in the last 14 days  OR you  have you had close contact with a person with confirmed coronavirus – please phone reception for advice (PLEASE DO NOT COME IN OR BOOK AN APPOINTMENT VIA MMH).

Symptoms include: fever AND cough, shortness of breath or a sore throat.

Currently patients enrolled with the online patient portal,  Manage My Health, can access their lab results, order prescriptions, book appointments, see recalls coming up and email the health team.

Soon you will also have access to your consultation notes.  We plan to have this function available from the 2nd of April, 2020.   Only notes written from this date will be available via the portal.

Please be aware that medical records cannot be a verbatim account and medical jargon is used along with abbreviations.  Some terms have different meaning to the lay person.  Medical notes are often brief and condensed to points that are most clinically relevant.  If you have questions about what has been written please do not hesitate to ask at your next consultation.  Legally changes to existing notes are not allowed but an amendment can be added at a later date.

How long after my consultation will I be able to see what was written?  It can take up to 24 hours for the clinician to finalise your notes.  Please note that come clinicians can write their notes in full at the time of the consultation, but others make brief notes or headings and write them up later on in the day.  Not all tasks associated with the visit will be done within this time frame as research and other actions to be taken my take longer.

If you are not currently registered with Manage My Health and wish to have access to all the benefits listed above please phone the friendly reception team on 466 5011.

There is limited Measles vaccine stock currently in NZ and the Ministry of Health has been prioritising how it is distributed.  While the current vaccine supply is limited, the priority groups as determined by the Ministry of Health are children aged 15 months and 4 years old getting their MMR vaccine as part of the Immunisation Schedule.

MHC have enough supply to immunise these children.  We will continue to keep you up to date on any future changes.

The Immunisation Advisory Centre provides up to date information about measles immunity and the MMR vaccine on their website:

https://www.immune.org.nz/hot-topic/measles-overseas-and-new-zealand

For more information on measles please visit the Ministry of Health website.

Dr Jennie Lewis will be significantly reducing her availability at MHC over the next few years as she prepares for retirement.  If you are a patient of Dr Lewis, please keep this in mind and begin to seek an alternative GP at MHC who can support your care with Dr Lewis, then take over your care once she retires.

MHC would like to remind all patients that ‘no news means good news’ in relation to all tests.

Your GP or Practice Nurse will only contact you if there is something which you need to know about your test results, or which requires follow up.

If you do not hear from your GP or Practice Nurse, this means that your results are all fine and there is nothing further you need to do.

Dr Sam Whittaker has joined the MHC team from Wellington and is now well settled into our Southern ways!  If you would like to register with Sam simply let our reception staff know when you visit for your next appointment.

It is important you are registered with the GP you see the most. This ensure that a GP knows you well and has a good long term relationship with you.  Having this relationship will work better for your ongoing care needs, and will ensure that all information related to your care will go to the GP who knows you the best.

From 1 December fees for Community Service Card holders are changing!

MHC charges for normal working hours will be:

$12.50 for 14-17 years old with CSC

$18.50 for 18+ years old with CSC

*out of hours service fees will apply to CSC holders

MHC will also be extending free child visits.  Presently, appointments are free for under 13’s.  This will be extended to under 14’s from 1 December.

From 1 November 2018 there will no longer be a nurses phone line available.  There will be a prescription line for repeat requests, or Manage My Health (MMH) where you can email your GP directly with any requests.

If you would like to speak to a nurse for results or advice please book a nurse clinic appointment.

To have full access to your latest results and medical information you can register for MMH by contacting reception on 4665011.

For free medical advice you can also call the Ministry of Health’s Healthline on: 0800 611 116.

If you have fallen unwell and believe you need an on the day appointment, please contact reception who will take your details and our acute clinic GP or Nurse Practitioner will call you back to assess your needs.

MMH is a patient portal which allows you access to your own private health information securely.

You can also book appointments and request prescriptions on line.

To register and receive your own private password for access to your own notes, contact reception on 4665011.

MHC is now providing MMH access for children under 16 years.  Parental authority, and patient consent is required (if able), with the expectation that the password and access be changed to patient only access once they reach 16 years.

MHC is moving to a ‘team approach’ with our GP services.  This means that if your registered GP is unavailable, reception will direct you to one of the GPs within the same team.  The GPs meet regularly to discuss cases and care to enhance the patient journey, and their health outcomes.

This approach will help GPs to work much closer on the care of patients, and will help those with chronic or ongoing conditions to be better supported.  As a team of GPs will know what has been happening with your care, they will be able to assist both you and each other, in providing the best possible care and outcomes for your condition.

If you would like more information, or would like to give feedback on your experience, please contact the Practice Manager.