Introductions
The team at Halswellhealth wish to welcome Dr Helen O’Neill and Dr Emily Shine and Ben Brown our new health coach to our team.
We also welcome back Nurse Anna Swain who has returned to the practice after a period of working in the hospital Diabetes Centre. Anna will offer diabetes appointments which can be booked online via the portal or via the reception team.
Change of Practice Management System to Indici
We are now 3 months into our new IT system, Indici. We thank our community for being patient with the transition and we apologise for any disruption caused.
We encourage patients to register for the portal feature which allows patients to make online appointments and request repeat prescriptions. Secure messaging to the practice and access to results and various resources is also available.
Please ask reception if you wish to have access to the portal. Portal users must be over the age of 16 and have an individual email address.
Prescription Policy
Now that we have e-prescribing we are no longer providing a pick up service for prescriptions. Prescriptions will be emailed to the pharmacy at no extra cost.
From April 1st 2021, we will no longer operate our dedicated prescription phone line. We prefer script requests to come via the patient portal MyIndici. We will still accept requests via our website or via a phone call to the nurse.
Urgent prescriptions are only available by calling the practice directly. Requests for urgent prescriptions received before midday will be processed on the same day and after midday it will be available the following day.
Routine prescriptions require 3 business days for processing.
Booking Appointments
We recommend that patients book their routine appointments in advance if they can.
The demand for appointments has really grown over the past couple of years and statistics show patients are seeing their GP more frequently. In General Practice, we are managing conditions that were previously managed in the hospital system and patients that cannot access hospital care due to insufficient capacity. This is adding to the workload of the practice.
For acute or urgent medical issues we have appointments every day set aside so please ring if this applies.
If multiple issues are to be discussed please discuss with reception as a longer appointment will be required.
We encourage the use of the online booking system via the portal for standard 15 minute consultations. For longer appointments (eg driver’s license medicals, travel medicine, minor surgery, insurance medicals) please ask reception.
We understand that the online booking system is not as user friendly as our previous service and we are working with Indici to try and improve the process. Thank you to everyone who has been providing feedback.
COVID-19 Practice Process
We manage COVID-19 at the practice according to the Ministry of Health guidelines. We run a dedicated Red Stream from the Ensign Street practice.
All patients with an acute respiratory illness with at least one of the following cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose and anosmia (loss of sense of smell) should be tested for COVID-19.
If you have any of these symptoms, please call the practice to arrange a test or medical assessment if you are unwell. There is no cost for this service. Please do not book these appointments online and do not come into the practice unannounced – please phone ahead.
COVID-19 tests are also available at the Christchurch CBACS at no cost. No referral or appointment is required.
CBAC (near airport) at 174 Orchard Road. open 9am-4pm. 7 days week. Whanau Ora CBAC 250 Pages Road Wainoni. 9am -1530 7days week.
COVID-19 Vaccination and Influenza Vaccine
At this stage we are unsure how the COVID-19 vaccine will be delivered in the community but we expect it to be rolled out in the second half of the year. Up to date information can be found on the Immunisation Advisory centre website https://www.immune.org.nz/covid-19-vaccines. The influenza vaccine will be delivered as per usual via General Practice. Once we have the details and supply of vaccine confirmed we will start booking clinics. We will update our website when we know more.
MMR vaccination for 15-30 year olds
There is a nationwide MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) programme running this year for people aged between 15-30 years who may not be fully immunised against measles.
We are recalling patients who are not fully immunised and encourage patients to contact the practice or ask their doctor if they are unsure. If in doubt it is safe to have an extra dose of MMR.
The MMR is a free vaccination.
Keep in touch with us via our website: www.halswellhealth.co.nz or our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Halswellhealth
