STAFF CHANGES

We welcome Selina Ryan-Lentini to our nursing team. Selina has spent time in a GP surgery in the Mahurangi and has considerable general practice nursing experience. Selina replaces Beth, who has moved to Taihape with her family.

We welcome Kathryn on the desk. Kathryn is learning the complex role of medical reception so please be patient. Kathryn replaces Sharyn who has started nursing training.

We welcome in May, Cathy Murray who will be joining our team as nurse manager. Cathy has 30 years nursing experience including 10 years at Albany Accident and Medical. Cathy is replacing Joanne who we were very sad to see move on.

A big thanks goes to our relief nurses Bev and Froyle for filling in recently.

INFLUENZA VACCINE

Influenza vaccine is now available and includes vaccination against the H1N1 strain of influenza that caused “swine flu” last winter. The Ministry of Health is expecting another outbreak this winter, and we encourage those at risk to have the flu vaccination. It will continue to be free to the over 65s and those with certain chronic illnesses. Also it is free to selected children, those with a body mass index over 35 and pregnant women, who were disproportionately affected by the swine flu last year. For all others the cost is $30.

MASKS

Many of you would have been asked to wear a mask if you had colds or flu last winter. Not only did it protect other patients, but we had a very low incidence of staff sickness. Thank you for your co-operation. We ask that you continue to be vigilant with masks again this winter.

MEASLES AND PERTUSSIS (WHOOPING COUGH)

There has been, and continues to be, both measles and pertussis epidemics in Auckland. We recommend that you ensure your children are up to date with their immunisations. Please ring and talk to one of the nurses if you need to check whether your child is up to date.

CERVICAL SMEARS

Our new nurse Selina is trained and available to do routine cervical smears. If you would like Selina to do your smear, please ring and talk to her first. The cost will be $25.

CLOSING TIME – FRIDAYS

We now close at 5:30pm on Fridays. The last available doctor appointment is 5:00pm and the last nurse appointment is 4:45pm. Barry’s Pharmacy will also close at the same time.

NEW PATIENTS

A reminder that only Dr Eugeen Ong is taking on new patients. If you need an emergency appointment, please phone and talk to one of the nurses and we will prioritise an appointment as necessary.

PRESCRIPTION REPEATS

As well as phoning, you can also request prescriptions on line via nurse@brownsbaymed.co.nz. These emails are cleared twice a day.

Prescription requests require 24 hours notice. They will be ready for collection after 2pm the next day. There is now an extra $5 charge for urgent, same day prescriptions.

There is also an extra charge for prescriptions that you wish to have faxed to a pharmacy. All these scripts must be posted as well, so we prefer you to give us the name, postal address and fax number of your pharmacy, so that your prescriptions goes to exactly where you want it to go. We have fixed protocols for the issuing of repeat prescriptions without seeing the Doctor. This is for your own safety. Depending on your prescription, you may be asked by a nurse to see your Doctor.

MONDAY DRESSINGS

After the weekend, there are often quite a number of patients who need to have dressings. You may be asked whether your dressing could be done in the afternoon to help ease traffic congestion in the waiting room. We would be grateful if you could help us out in this way.

LIFESTYLE CLINICS

Our nurses run lifestyle clinics for asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular risk and smoking cessation. These are, generally, half hour appointments and cost $30 per session. You may qualify under the CarePlus programme to have this funded. Please talk to your doctor or one of the nurses about these. The nurses are happy to share their knowledge with you in order to keep you as healthy as possible.

SUNFLOWER MONTH

In conjunction with St Johns, we promoted SUNFLOWER MONTH in March. This was an event for the over 65s where a number of speakers spoke about various aspects of safety in the home and issues that are pertinent to the older person. Feedback has been excellent so a big thanks to Sally for organizing this!