January News at Waiheke Health Trust and Ostend Medical

Introducing “Ka Ora Telecare” – a new after-hours telehealth service providing medical advice for rural communities.

Ostend Medical Centre completed the registration process with Ka Ora in December, making the service available to our patients, as well as island visitors, who need urgent, after-hours care.

Appointments are available 5pm to 8am on weekdays, and 24 hours a day on weekends and Public Holidays. You can connect with the Ka Ora Telecare team at any point during the day to be assessed and to book an appointment by calling 0800 2 KA ORA (0800 252 672).

You will first be greeted by a Kaiawhina or a Nurse. The team will assess your health needs, and you can either see a Clinician directly or you may also choose to schedule an appointment later in the evening.

There is no cost to be assessed or to consult with a Nurse. Fees to be seen by a Clinician (Nurse Practitioner, GP or Emergency Doctor) are the following:

Your consultation notes will be sent to Ostend Medical Centre after your appointment, so you don’t need to worry about the consistency of your care. In addition, the Ka Ora service can prescribe medication just as your GP would. We’d love to hear your feedback on this new service, so if you use Ka Ora for after-hours care, please let us know how it went!

ALWAYS CALL 111 FOR EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE

We are Recruiting

Do you or a nurse who you know want to join our busy clinic and warm, professional team at the heart of the Waiheke community? We’re seeking a Practice Nurse and can be flexible about schedules to ensure a positive work/life balance for you and your whānau.

If you would like to know more, please email [email protected] or call Jen on 372 8893.

Ultrasound Update

Waiheke Health Trust is continuing to fundraise in order to get an ultrasound service up and running for the island by March. We have hired an experienced and empathetic sonographer, Samantha Buchanan, who is moving to Waiheke with her young family from Palmerston North this month, so now is the time for the community to come together to bring health care home!

Community support has enabled us to order the Philips Epiq Elite ultrasound seen here, a top-of-the-line piece of equipment that is consistent with those used in private radiology services and hospitals.

However, we are still about $25,000 short of the funds needed to fit out the treatment room and buy the other pieces of supplementary equipment needed to open in March.

Because on-island ultrasound will save our community members a ferry trip into town as well as a full day of lost productivity away from work and family, we will be asking our fellow islanders to make a one-off donation of either the cost of a ferry ticket (perhaps one of those new reserved ones) or the average daily salary of someone in NZ. You can make a tax-deductible donation here: https://wht.org.nz/support-us/donate/ultrasound-donation/.

We look forward to inviting all donors into the Health Trust to view the new equipment, meet the sonographer and celebrate the opening of the service in the coming months!

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Welcoming All Patients Eligible for Cervical Screening

We understand that the rainbow community can be disadvantaged by health care systems and want to make sure that all eligible patients feel comfortable coming to Ostend Medical Centre for cervical screening. Cervical screening is recommended if you are:

a person with a cervix;
aged between 25 and 69;
sexually active or have ever been.

It makes no difference what your sexuality or gender identity is, or if you have not been sexually active for a long time. If you have a cervix, get tested.
If you’ve had a total hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and cervix) check with your healthcare provider to see if you still need to have screening.

Cervical screening looks for the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes most cervical cancers. Almost all cervical cancer is caused by HPV. The virus is very common and is spread by intimate skin-to-skin contact or any sexual activity. Most adults, who have been sexually active, will have HPV at some time in their lives. The body usually clears the virus, but some types can persist and go on to cause cell changes that may, over time, turn into cancer.

With the introduction of HPV self-screening, many patients can do the test themselves, usually in a private area at your screening appointment, or you can ask for help to get it done. By having regular screening (usually every 5 years) and being immunised against HPV, you can protect yourself against cervical cancer. This way you can stay healthy for yourself and your whānau. Call us on 372 5005 if you’d like to learn more.