COVID-19
It has been a challenging time in General Practice and we wish to thank our patients for being so kind and understanding during the COVID-19 response. New Zealand’s team of 5 million have done so well to keep out community spread of the virus and the team at Halswellhealth feel proud to have played a part in the medical response.

COVID-19 has forced changes in how we operate the practice. These changes are designed to keep our staff and patients safe and are best practice according to Ministry of Health(MOH) guidelines. The following are some key instructions we have to comply with.

1. We are “streaming” patients
   We need to know if you have a cough, sore throat, runny nose, blocked nose, fever. eg cold and flu type symptoms.
   We also need to know if you have been at risk of catching COVID eg. if you work at quarantine hotel, airport etc. If the answer is yes, we will arrange a safe way of assessing your health need, either in person or via telehealth. We are keeping our waiting rooms free of viral type symptoms to protect our staf and patients. Please do not be ofended if we ask you not to come to the practice or to wait in your car. We are doing this to keep everyone safe and to prevent the spread of colds and flu.
2. We have been asked to perform COVID-19 tests for patients who have COVID-19 symptoms If you have symptoms, please ring the practice and we will advise whether you require testing. We have a free quick car park swabbing clinic operating twice daily at Ensign Street. This is designed for patients requiring swabbing, but not requiring any medical assessment. We also have an assessment area at Ensign Street for patients who are unwell with viral symptoms, or who have a medical condition requiring assessment and have coexisting viral symptoms. We can safely see these patients and perform COVID-19 swabbing if necessary. There is no cost to the patient.
3. If patients with viral symptoms arrive at the practice unannounced, we will ask you to return to your car and will phone you for further instructions. We apologise for this inconvenience. As a practice we are doing our best to provide a safe and efficient service for our patients. We have a dedicated team of GPs running our “red stream” and these GPs are limited in offering their routine appointments at this time.

A full range of practice services is back on offer. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown and the ongoing work of COVID-19 testing, the practice is busy but we still want patients to come in for routine screening appointments eg. cervical smears and childhood vaccinations as per the schedule.

OTHER NEWS
Te Tumu Waiora “to head towards wellness’ This is a holistic model of care supporting the physical, emotional and social needs of the person. We are lucky to be one of the first practices in Christchurch to roll out this initiative. The aim is to make mental health care more accessible to more people and put mental health and wellbeing at the heart of General Practice.

Lisa Hill has joined the practice as our Health Improvement Practitioner (HIP). Lisa is originally from the UK and has worked previously in the UK and NZ in both General Practice and Secondary Care in Mental Health. She is available to see a wide range of conditions eg. anxiety, low mood, sleep problems, and stress to name a few. Lisa is trained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as well as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Referrals to Lisa can made via your GP or Practice Nurse.

We also welcome Rachel Stringer to the team as our Health Coach. A Health Coach works in partnership with people supporting behavioural or lifestyle changes. They promote self-management and achievement of goals and help patients navigate and connect with other services.

Nursing Team Changes
Pippa Cornish joined us in April and is covering for Abby whilst she is on maternity leave. We also welcome Lily Marr to the nursing team.

Cafe at Longhurst Health
‘Suburban Rascal’ is the name of the new café at Longhurst Health. We encourage our patients to support the cafe which ofers a wide range of delicious foods and beverages.

Check out our updated website halswellhealth.co.nz
We now have a Facebook page: facebook.com/Halswellhealth Please like us!