Kia ora

Raising Funds for Ultrasound  

Currently when members of our island community need an ultrasound for pregnancy, injury or diagnosis, they have to travel to Auckland. This results in up to a full day away from work and whānau, significant travel costs, and a lengthy and challenging transport situation for those with injuries or in late stages of pregnancy.  The cost to travel to the city, a day off work and the cost of the ultrasound itself means patients are sometimes choosing between healthcare appointments and other necessities.  

In August, Waiheke Health Trust hosted a gathering for island health care providers and polled them as to their most pressing needs and wants for the island.  Ultrasound was the most requested piece of capital expenditure put forward.  The Trust then put the same question to the community via social media.  Again, ultrasound was identified as the service that the island was in most immediate need of.   

Based on this, the Health Trust decided to set up an ultrasound service which we are committed to establishing from 1 March.  We have hired an experienced and empathetic sonographer, Samantha Buchanan, who is moving to Waiheke with her young family from Palmerston North in January. 

We are highly dependent upon our community for capital expenditures and need to raise $185,000 to purchase the equipment and fit out the treatment room.  We’re incredibly lucky to have already received starting donations of $55,000 and are now going out to our island community to source the remaining $130,000 needed.  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/ 

Introducing Dr Orna McGinn 

We are delighted to introduce you to Dr Orna McGinn, the new permanent GP for Ostend Medical Centre.  Dr McGinn will be available for patient appointments from the week of 8 January.  Since qualifying as a general practitioner in the UK in 2001, Orna has held a variety of senior clinical and leadership roles.

Working collaboratively, her aim is always to see the bigger picture and bring people and ideas together to ‘make things work better’.  She has specific experience and expertise in medical education and clinical governance and has held teaching posts at the University of Auckland since 2016. Her broad skill set includes the ability to lead and motivate teams, always aiming to inspire with energy and a positive attitude.  She has a substantial CV, so we will just include a few highlights below: 

• GP in two busy east Auckland practices from 2011 to 2022, Highland Park Medical and Pakuranga Medical Centre, where she worked in all aspects of community medicine, including health promotion.  Dr McGinn also spent time as a Family Planning Doctor, which saw her designing and delivering free acceptable, accessible, and culturally safe contraception counselling and services to historically underserved populations. 
• Clinical Director, Primary Care Women’s Health, National Women’s Hospital from 2019 to 2022, a role aimed to facilitate better collaboration and integration between primary and secondary care, and to promote best practice in the community around women’s health and gynaecology.  
• Primary Care Women’s Health Clinical Fellow, University of Auckland, January 2023- present, a role within the University of Auckland which has a focus on to developing a programme of education in women’s health for primary care practitioners.  
• Chair of the New Zealand Women in Medicine Charitable Trust since 2021. 

Dr McGinn is a part-time Waiheke resident who is looking forward to serving our close-knit community.  The role will be somewhat of a return to her roots, as her first GP position in the UK was in the small rural community where she lived.  She is a passionate singer who performs regularly with a barbershop choir, so we are excited for her contributions, not only to our clinical practice but also to our waiata practice!   

Home Support Services 

We’re excited to announce that Waiheke Health Trust’s Home Support Service can now accept private referrals.  If you or your loved one need assistance with personal cares or household management, please call us on 09 372 8893 to learn how our compassionate and kind Support Workers can help.   

And a big thank you to Jacqui who recently gave us this lovely feedback.  We’re honoured to have been able to support her and her whānau in such a meaningful way! 

Thank You Waiheke Bowling Club 

We recently applied to the Waiheke Bowling Club for funding to buy a dermatoscope, a device that allows our practitioners to look closely at moles and skin lesions.  We knew that a dermatoscope would also allow us to send high-quality images to specialists for review, which can help skin to be better assessed. 

We are very grateful that the generous folks at Waiheke Bowling Club (especially their Committee Chair David Edwards) funded our request and that the dermatoscope has arrived, just in time for the summer months. 

David and Treasurer Graeme Griggs recently came into the Medical Centre where our Health Care Assistant Anna was able to give them a demonstration of how the equipment works. 

We are so lucky to work in a community that looks after its members so well – thank you Waiheke Bowling Club! 

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]. 

Seal-Tight Products Available 

One of the services that Waiheke Health Trust provides is stocking Seal-Tight waterproof cast and bandage protectors for adults and children. These protectors keep casts and bandages (on legs, feet, hands, and arms) dry during showering. All Seal-Tight products are latex-free, easy to use and guaranteed to keep bandages and casts dry.  

Seal-Tight products can be purchased for $54 at Waiheke Health Trust reception (behind the ambulance station). If you have an ACC claim number, Seal-Tight is the one cast and bandage protector brand that ACC will reimburse for. Just ask for a receipt when you make your purchase. If you would like to know more, please get in touch.

Planning Your Prescriptions 

After Hours 

ALWAYS CALL 111 FOR EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE

We are open Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm except public holidays. If you need to speak with a nurse or doctor outside of these times, phone: 09 372 3111 for the after hours service.

Our tikanga – core principles
kaitiakitanga | whanaungatanga | manaakitanga | pukengatanga | kotahitanga