After many months of fundraising, equipment purchases, treatment room fit out and technology calibration, the island’s first ultrasound service opened for patients at Waiheke Health Trust on 12 March. The service is staffed by sonographer Samantha Buchanan, who moved to the island with her young family in January, and it currently operates on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

A prime motivator for the Health Trust in setting up the service, was for island residents to no longer have to take a day off from work and whānau obligations to travel to Auckland for scans, particularly if they were injured or pregnant. The difference that the service is already making was brought home to us recently, when we spoke with Maggie, one of Waiheke Health Trust’s Home Support workers, and Damian, General Manager of Waiheke Community Housing Trust, who are expecting their next baby in four months. When they had their previous ultrasound scan eight weeks ago, they both had to take a day off to travel to Auckland for the visit. Now that ultrasound is available on Waiheke, Maggie and Damian had their 20-week scan recently with Sam at the Health Trust. This meant that they could also do a kindy visit with their 4-year-old, Maggie could care for her scheduled clients and Damian could get two Waiheke whānau settled into their new homes on the day. Not only that, but Maggie’s mum could also attend one of her scans for the very first time and meet her new grandbaby!

While people naturally associate ultrasound with maternity scans, it can also be used to evaluate pain, swelling and infection, to examine the internal organs, to evaluate blood flow, and to locate foreign bodies, such a palm spines, glass or kina spikes. You can be referred for an ultrasound scan by your doctor’s surgery, allied health provider (such as a physiotherapist, chiropractor or osteopath), or midwife, and the majority of ultrasound fees are supported by ACC, Te Whatu Ora or your insurance provider.

Raising funds for the ultrasound service has been a labour of love for the Waiheke community, and we are incredibly grateful for every donation that we received. Community members donated expertise and equipment to the fit-out, asked for donations in lieu of birthday gifts and memorials, sold jams and marmalades, ran a RWC sweep and partnered with family members to maximise their donations. We will be inviting all of our donors into the Health Trust to see the finished product in the coming weeks, but in the meantime want to say ngā mihi nui ki a koe Waiheke!

Celebrating Success: Richard’s Inspiring Journey

We are delighted to share the incredible success story of Richard Bull, a member of our OMC patient community. Richard has achieved a remarkable 20kg weight loss, a testament to his dedication and hard work and the support he has received from the OMC team and his wider network. Six months ago, Richard made a pivotal decision to change his lifestyle after realizing the need for action. Despite trying various weight management programs in the past without lasting results, he found a game-changer in the “MyFitnessPal” calorie counting app. This tool simplified his journey by allowing him to track his food intake and decide ‘whether the calories are worth it!’

Richard attributes his success to consistency, combining the use of the app with medication, increased physical activity, and support from friends and OMC’s Health Coach, Stephanie. These lifestyle adjustments not only led to weight loss but also positively impacted his diabetes marker. Just two years ago, Richard’s HbA1c level was as high as 90. Today, his latest test shows a remarkable improvement, with a reading of 34, well below the threshold for pre-diabetes.

If you would like support in meeting your health goals, our Health Coach is here to support you on your wellness journey, offering guidance on healthy eating, exercise routines, understanding medications and education about common health conditions. This service is completely free and provided through 20-minute sessions, tailored to prioritise your wellbeing. To make it even more accessible, face to face, phone or video consults are available depending on what suits you best.

To book your session with Health Coach Stephanie, please contact reception on 372 5005.

Book Your Flu Jab Now

Ostend Medical Centre will be running a flu vaccine clinic from the 2nd to 5th of April, and we would love to get as many of our patients as possible protected against flu before winter starts.

The 2024 flu vaccine is recommended for everyone over 6 months and is free for:

people aged 65 and over.
people who have a long-term medical condition like diabetes, asthma, or a heart condition (ages 6 months and older)
pregnant people
children aged 4 years and under who have a history of significant respiratory illness.
people with mental health conditions, including schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizoaffective disorder.
people who are currently accessing secondary or tertiary mental health and addiction services

For everyone else, the flu jab is $35, although we think that avoiding the fever, chills, muscle aches, runny nose, cough, shortness of breath, and stomach upsets that can keep you in bed for a week or more is priceless!

And when you’re in for your flu jab, you are very welcome to also get your COVID-19 booster if you’re due. The prevalence of COVID-19 on the island in recent months has made it clear that we all need to stay protected, and if you are 30 years of age and over, that means getting a booster if it has been at least six months since you have had COVID-19 or a previous vaccine. Boosters are especially recommended for:

people aged 65 and older.
Māori and Pacific people aged 50 and older.
residents of aged care facilities
severely immunocompromised people
people aged 12 years and over who have a medical condition that increases the risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

We look forward to helping you stay healthy this winter. Call us on 372 5005 to book today. While we would love to get you protected as soon as possible, if you aren’t able to book in with us for the first week of April, we’d be happy to accommodate another date for you.