FLU

The Flu Vaccine will be available at Coastal Medical Rooms from 2nd April 2024.

Everyone from the age of 6 months is recommended to receive an annual influenza vaccine to reduce the spread of the influenza virus, and for the direct protection against severe illness.

The flu vaccine is free for some people:

• pregnant people
• everyone aged 65 years and older
• adults with underlying health conditions including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, and serious asthma or respiratory disease
• adults with an autoimmune disease, a cochlear implant or Down syndrome
• anyone with mental illness such as schizophrenia or those currently accessing mental health services.

If you are unsure of your eligibility, please have a chat to one of our nurses or visit Flu (influenza) vaccine | Immunise | Te Whatu Ora for further information.

The cost for patients who are not eligible for a free influenza vaccine is $40

This year the practice is providing two different influenza vaccines:

• Influvac Tetra - free to those who meet the eligibility criteria
• FluadQuad - not funded but can be privately purchased at a cost of $50.00 but is only available to those over 65 years of age.

You can book you flu vaccine on myindici or by calling the practice. If you are wanting FluadQuad, you will need to call the practice to book as we hold limited stock on site.

COVID

We also offer free Covid vaccinations.

The Covid vaccine is free if you meet one of the below criteria:

• aged 30+
• Pregnant people aged 16-29 years
• People aged 12-29 years at higher risk of severe illness from Covid
• Six months or longer since your last Covid vaccine or Covid illness

If you are unsure of your eligibility, please have a chat to one of our nurses.

To book your Covid vaccination, please call the practice.

New GP - Dr Daphne Stol

We are pleased to welcome Dr Daphne Stol to our practice. Dr Stol is an experienced General Practitioner from the Netherlands. She will be at the practice 2 days a week and you can book an appointment with Dr Stol by calling the practice. myindici appointment bookings will be available shortly.

Fee Increase

We understand visiting your doctor can be costly. Our fees have remained unchanged since August 2021. Sadly, we are unable to maintain these rates without compromising the range, quality and accessibility of services we offer.

Our fees will increase from 1st September 2023 and apply to the following services:

• Standard Consultations (GP & Nurse)
• ACC Consultations (GP & Nurse)
• Drivers Medicals
• Standard Prescriptions
• Urgent Prescription Charge
• Enrolled patients Under 14 years remain free
• Enrolled patients with a Community Service Card (CSC) - no change as these fees are capped

Our updated fee schedule can be found here.

Access to Services

Healthcare services in New Zealand are evolving to meet the needs of the people more equitably.

Accessibility has increased through the introduction of online portals such as myindici, enabling you to connect with your health care provider for appointments virtually and in person, order repeat prescriptions, direct messaging and much more.

• Direct messaging
  myindici messages are intended to be used for shorter problems or quick queries that can be responded to in 5 minutes. This service should not be used for urgent matters, emergencies or to replace a visit to your doctor. Please allow 5 working days for a response. There is a fee for this service which is calculated from the length of time taken to read, action and reply to your message. Fees for this service start from $20 ($6.50 for CSC holders).
  
  You may be asked to make an appointment if your message cannot be answered within a reasonable timeframe. Please note, the response may not be from your GP. Your message will be assessed and may be referred to a nurse, Health Improvement Practitioner, Clinical Pharmacist, or other health professional within the Coastal Medical Rooms clinical team to resolve.
  
  
• Appointments
  Online bookings (in person, video, or phone) are for standard routine appointments only. Not all our appointments are available to book online. If you need to see a doctor sooner, please call us and we will find an appointment for you.
  
  For more complex matters (as these will take longer than the standard 15 minutes), such as drivers or other medicals, immunisations, travel consultations, or if you think you will need longer than 15 minutes with your doctor, please call us to book your appointment.
  
  Online bookings are not yet available for nurse, Health Improvement Practitioner, Clinical Pharmacist or Health Coach appointments, please call us to book. Masks are still required to be worn in doctors clinics.
  
  
• Prescriptions
  Access to myindici has made it easier for you to order a repeat prescription at your own convenience, however the prescribing clinician still needs time to review your medications, notes, and check that your prescription meets clinical and legal requirements.
  
  Should your medication need to be reviewed or changed you may need to see a doctor or clinical pharmacist. If this is the case, we will contact you.
  
  We recommend you should always have at least 3 weeks' worth of medications on hand in case of unexpected situations and to avoid the inconvenience of ordering an urgent prescription.
  
  Please allow four working days for a prescription to be sent to your selected pharmacy.
  
  If you need help with myindici, please call the practice and one of our friendly staff will be happy to assist.
  
  
• Practice Plus
  To help provide same day appointments including after hours and weekends, we have partnered with a telehealth service that connects you with a clinician on the same day through telephone or video from the comfort of your own home. If you or your family require a same day appointment, then consider using Practice Plus on the following link: https://practiceplus.nz/ Fees apply.

Free Cervical Screening

If you have never been screened (this is your first screening test) or have not been screened in the last 5 years, you may be eligible for free screening. Please call the practice to find out if you are eligible and to make an appointment.

Free Winter Wellness Checks

Free Winter Wellness checks are available to eligible enrolled patients. Please contact us to check your eligibility and make an appointment with a nurse.

Flu Vaccinations

It's not too late for your flu vaccine. Call now to make an appointment. The flu vaccine is free for:

• children aged 6 months to 12 years old
• people aged 65 and over
• pregnant people
• Māori and Pacific people over 55

Feeling stressed or worried?
Having difficulty making changes to improve your health?

If you are willing to try something different, come and see Roseanne our Health Improvement Practitioner (HIP) Appointments with Roseanne are fully funded, please call the practice to find out more and book an appointment.

Thank you for your patience as we work through the workforce challenges at Coastal Medical Rooms. We are all still reeling from the loss of our dear Colleague Malcolm Dyer, on top of an already depleted work force, and the tail end of a pandemic. To date we have been unable to employ another General Practitioner. There is no one on the horizon at present, but we continue to advertise and hope this may alter. This is a nationwide problem.

In the meantime, we have decided the most sensible way forward is to share the current registered patient lists of Dr Dyer and Dr Marx-Sinik between the three remaining partners at Coastal Medical Rooms. The care of all registered patients will be managed collectively by Drs Davis, Lavery and Watters (Partners) along with Dr Alice Zwart (Associate) who has a special interest in Women's Health, and Dr Meaburn Staniland and Dr John Hardie Boys who are both providing locum services.

Urgent appointments will be assessed by the acute doctor of the day and may result in an appointment either on the day, a later date, or you may be redirected to one of our Health Care Team such as a Practice Nurse, Clinical Pharmacist, Health Improvement Practitioner or Health Coach for care. We will be utilising our extended care team for routine clinical reviews to allow an increase in appointment availability so that we can meet your needs. Routine appointments can be booked with any doctor via myindici or phoning reception. Be aware there will be delays seeing a doctor, so try and plan ahead.

We respectfully remind you a routine appointment is 15 minutes - one problem per appointment. If you need more than one issue addressed, or you are aware the issue is complicated, you will need to call the practice to book a longer appointment. This will help keep us running to time as everyone's time is valuable.

Practice Plus continues to be an option for virtual consultations and can be booked at any time for an afterhours appointment. To find out more, visit their website: https://practiceplus.nz/

For afterhours, please continue to phone Coastal Medical Rooms on their usual number 04 902 9200 where your call will be redirected to our afterhours service. You will receive advice and direction to appropriate medical support.

In an emergency, dial 111.

Please be aware there may be increased turnaround times for prescriptions and email requests.

If you no longer live in our area, please consider registering with a GP closer to home. A list of practices enrolling new patients can be found on the following links:

• Wellington, Porirua, Wairarapa and Kāpiti https://tuora.org.nz/
• Horowhenua, Ōtaki, Palmerston North Find a General Practice (thinkhauora.nz) https://www.thinkhauora.nz/general-practice

We will regularly review how we work as a team to ensure your health needs are being met. You will be updated of any workforce changes if, and when they occur.

Thank you for your support.

Dr Paul Davis, Dr Jan Lavery & Dr Rachel Watters
GP Partners - Coastal Medical Rooms

Coastal Medical Rooms will be closed on Wednesday 18th January 2023 from 12.30pm to 5pm. Your call will be diverted to our afterhours service where you will be triaged by a nurse who will assess your needs. Alternatively Practice Plus offer an afterhours Telehealth Service which can be accessed directly from this link: Practice Plus. For anything non-urgent, please call back during our usual hours. For an emergency, dial 111

Normal hours will resume from Thursday 19th January. Thank you for your understanding.

It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we inform you of the unexpected death of our colleague and friend, Dr Malcolm Dyer, who passed away on 8th December. We will all miss him more than words can express and our sincere condolences go to Malcolm's family. For urgent medical needs please contact the practice directly and as always the Partners at Coastal Medical Rooms Dr Paul Davis, Dr Rachel Watters & Dr Jan Lavery, along with our other doctors Dr Alice Zwart, Dr John Hardie Boys and Dr Meaburn Staniland will continue to do our best to meet these. Please allow a little longer for routine requests and appointments. Please be patient with our staff. We have a dedicated reception team, nursing team, Health Improvement Practitioner, Health Coach and a Clinical Pharmacist to help support your health needs.

Dr Paul Davis, Dr Rachel Watters & Dr Jan Lavery

Now more than ever, it's important to stay healthy. That means keeping up with preventive care and addressing any symptoms or conditions that may have come up over the past few months. Many of your health needs can be managed though virtual appointments with your GP (phone or video). You will still receive the same level of expert medical advice as you would if you were at the practice in person. If a phone or virtual consultation is not appropriate, for example if you have chest or abdominal pain, a face-to-face appointment can still be arranged.

Routine 15 minute appointments can be booked on myindici. Please consider a phone or virtual consultation when booking your appointment. Phone and virtual consultations are available with all our doctors. Normal consultation charges apply.

If your medical needs are of a more urgent matter or you are unable to find a suitable appointment on myindici, please call the practice so that our doctors and nurses can work with you to determine the best type of appointment for you.

In addition, a virtual after-hours consultation service called Practice Plus is available. This enables you to access a video consultation with a doctor if you have acute needs we cannot meet in a timely manner.

Covid-19 Protection Framework ORANGE

In Person Appointments: If your appointment is at the practice, we will continue to ask screening questions via the intercom. It's important that anyone with cold or flu symptoms, Covid Positive or a household contact of someone who is Covid Positive does not enter the practice.

If you develop cold or flu symptoms, are Covid Positive or a household contact of someone who is Covid Positive, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can assess the best way to meet your health needs.

Face Masks: Face masks are a way we can protect ourselves and others. You should wear one whenever you can. Information on when to wear a facemask can be found here: When to wear a face mask | Unite against COVID-19 (covid19.govt.nz) You must wear a mask at all times in the practice. If you hold a mask exemption, please advise the receptionist when you book your appointment and when you arrive. You may be asked to wait in your car. The GP or nurse will call you to assess your health needs and if required you may be seen in your car or our cabin.

Waiting Room: Our waiting room has limited capacity. Please arrive for appointments on time. If you arrive early, you may be asked to wait in your car or outside. If our doctors are running behind schedule, we will do our best to contact you, however this is not always possible.

NOTE: Standard appointments are 15 minutes to address a single query. If you have more than one query or the matter is complicated, or you are a new patient with a medical history unknown to us, you should phone the practice to book a longer appointment. Patients who attend with long lists of queries, should expect to have these resolved over several appointments, so we don't keep other patients waiting.

PLEASE DO NOT ARRIVE AT THE PRACTICE UNANNOUNCED - CALL AHEAD SO THAT WE CAN HELP YOU

Covid 19 - Vaccinations & 2^nd Booster

A second booster is recommended for those at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 - a minimum of 6 months after a first booster. Please visit Get your COVID-19 vaccination | Unite against COVID-19 (covid19.govt.nz) to check eligibility. Covid vaccinations can be booked by phoning 0800 28 29 26 or online Book My Vaccine | Ministry of Health NZ (covid19.health.nz). Walk-in clinics are also available and details can be found on the book my vaccine website.

Flu vaccine

If you have not yet had your flu vaccine, please call us on 04 902 9200 to book. You may be eligible for a free flu vaccine. Please ask us, or visit Why it's important to get a flu jab | Ministry of Health NZ for more information.

Dr Moran Marx-Sinik

We are very sad to advise that Dr Moran Marx-Sinik will be leaving Coastal Medical Rooms in early September 2022. We have been unable to replace her so far. In the current national GP shortage, we have no real expectation of being able to do so in the short to medium term. The Partners at Coastal Medical Rooms, along with Dr Alice Zwart our associate GP (special interest in Women's Health) and Dr John Hardie Boys (experienced GP who provides locum services for us) will continue to do our best to meet your medical needs. We have a dedicated nursing team, Health Improvement Practitioner and a Clinical Pharmacist to help us support your health needs.

Afterhours - Practice Plus

From 1^st September 2022, Practice Plus will be providing after hours services for Coastal Medical Rooms. This is accessed through our usual telephone number after-hours or directly through the Practice Plus link on our website Telehealth & Virtual GP Appointments New Zealand | Practice Plus Please do not go directly to Team Medical unless you have an accident as they will not be able to see you and will direct you to call our afterhours GPs.

Fax

Our fax is no longer in operation. Clinical information or queries can be emailed to nurses@coastalmedical.co.nz and administrative queries to admin@coastalmedical.co.nz