The temperatures have definitely been cooler over the last few days and we hope our patients and their whanau are keeping warm and well during this change of season.

CIVIC NEWSLETTERS

The new format of our newsletters have been well-received from our patients over the last few months and we are continuously working on getting this out to as many patients as possible. If patients wish not to receive these emails and updates, please select the “Unsubscribe” button located at the bottom of this email to remove your email address from our mailer list.

There are some valuable information shared on these updates and our aim is to not flood your inbox with unnecessary emails, but to keep you updated every once in a while as to what’s happening here at Civic.

CELEBRATION DAY FOR OUR NURSING TEAM!

We truly could not do without each and every one of them. They are a vital part of our team and we appreciate everything they do for our patients and their whanau.

Our Nursing team consists of Registered Nurses, Nurse Prescribers and Nurse Practitioners. Each of them have an incredible skillset to help serve our community.

Here is a summary of the care each of them could offer our patients;

Registered Nurses: Blood pressure checks, Wound management, Child Immunisations, Cervical Screening, Contraception, Spirometry, Infusions, Travel consults + vaccination, Ear Micro Suctioning, Other vaccinations.

Nurse Prescriber: Prescribe and treat minor ailments such as rash/spots, wound infections, eczema etc. Long term conditions, UTI & STI checks + treatment, Diabetes check + treatment, Treat minor ear & eye infections, Blood pressure reviews.

Nurse Practitioner: 3-6 monthly med reviews, ACC injury assessment + registration, Eczema + other skin conditions, Driver’s license medicals, Women’s health (contraception, menopause, breast concerns), Long term conditions – Review conditions such as; Asthma, COPD, Heart Failure, Gout, Cardiovascular disease.

DOCTOR NEWS

We have a few Doctors taking extended leave this year. We will still be providing great service but it may have to be with another Doctor if yours is away.

Dr Bonnie Zijsling is away from May until September 2023.

Dr Alex Dunn will be away from mid June 2023 until mid August 2023.

Dr Rhondda Turner will be away from around end August 2023 until beginning October 2023.

Dr Emily Marfell will be away from end October to the beginning of December 2023.

Dr Henry McKee has returned to the UK for a short while but will be back with us from August 2023.

SHORT STAFFED

Some days we struggle as a team with sickness and leave, leaving us short staffed.  

If it is a Doctor that is unwell, we have to re-schedule patients into already fully booked days.   When it is a Nurse or Admin, duties need to still be completed and the remaining staff work hard to cover the shortfall.

Thank you for your consideration when we are trying to cope with the additional pressure and also provide the best service to our patients that we can.

ADVANCED CARE PLAN (ACP)

Advance care planning is the process of thinking about, talking about and planning for future health care and end of life care. The goal of the Advance Care Plan is to ensure that your treatment wishes are known and honored.  It can include your values, life goals and preferred outcomes and directions about care and treatments.

We have brochures and the forms available in the Practice if you and/or a family member would like to have a look.  We have Chris, our Health Coach, as well as other staff who are trained in ACP preparation and can help with working through the booklet and completing a plan.   

The time to prepare an advance care plan is now, whatever your age or state of health.

FLU VACCINES AND COVID BOOSTERS

We have Flu Vaccines here in the Practice and if you require one, you can make a booking with our nursing team. We’ve held one successful clinic but the need has not been great enough to hold another. A large number of patients are getting their vaccines done at the Chemist and this is the quick and easy option.   The pharmacies send the information through to us so that patients’ health records are up to date.

FEES AND SERVICES NOT COVERED BY FUNDING

There is a lot of discussion in the media lately about the lack of funding for GP Practices. We do receive some funding from the Ministry of Health to subsidise Doctors appointments. The Ministry of Health funding goes so far to covering costs but patients need to pay a co-payment to meet the rest. We are awaiting a rise in the health funding, but all indications are that it will not meet inflation and the increased costs of running a GP Practice, let alone ensure we can pay our staff what they are worth. We endeavor to keep our co-payment to the least we can afford to be sustainable and have not increased since 2021. We will await Government funding decisions to reassess this.

We also offer a range of services that are not funded by the Ministry of Health, including Nurse, Nurse Practitioner & Clinical Pharmacist Consultations, Drivers License & Marine Medicals, Ear Suctioning Services, Cryotherapy (Dry Ice / Liquid Nitrogen), Minor Operations, any paperwork requests, reports, forms or replies to emails that Doctors need to complete, etc.  A summary of our fees can be found on our website which includes the non-funded services and what you can expect to pay. It should be noted that as these are not funded, all ages pay for these services.

We understand that times are tough and we are more than happy to talk to you to make arrangements for paying.   Many of our patients pay a small amount per week and keep their accounts ticking over. Thank you to those patients that do this and those that keep in touch so we know what’s happening and do not have to chase.

If you are eligible for a Community Services Card, please ensure you apply.  This reduces the cost of a consultation considerably.

Chris, our Health Coach is happy to talk to patients who need help to access Work & Income and/or Budget advice to help move forward.

All we ask is that you talk to us, let us know what is happening for you and try and work out a way we can help. 

DID NOT ATTEND (DNA) - THESE ARE APPOINTMENTS THAT ARE NOT ATTENDED

If you have an appointment with Civic and cannot attend, please let us know as soon as possible.  Appointments are well sought after so a cancellation will be snapped up and it will give us an opportunity to help another patient.

If an appointment is not attended without any notification, the patient will still incur the consult charge.

Please consider other patients and their need for an appointment and let us know well before the appointment if you are cancelling. 

EAR MICRO SUCTIONING

Civic has recognized the need for this service and we have invested in the equipment and the training for some of our nurses. 

Ear Suctioning appointments have been made available to book into with the nurses.  Please call and ask about it today.  

Costs - $60 for one ear, $80 for two ears, $30 for any follow up needed.

NON-CLINICAL TRIAGE AND SEEING THE RIGHT HEALTH CARE PROVIDER

Civic staff (clinical and non-clinical) have continued working on ways we can better serve the needs of our patients. We are fortunate to have a variety of Health Care providers with different skillsets and specialties and utilizing those skillsets are highly advantageous for patients as well as clinicians who are able to offer their services to patients. Having this variety also provides the option for patients to access the care that they need sooner.

Our administration staff continue to work with our clinical team learning and training to better deal and direct patients to various providers to get them the help they need.

When phoning the practice, our administration team will ask various questions to better understand what’s going on for the patient or the reason for needing an appointment. Our administration team are not clinicians and cannot offer any clinical advice. They are, however, able to ask questions to better understand the patients situation and to ensure they can direct them to the correct provider in a timely manner. Patients can rest assured that all Civic staff are bound by the Privacy Act and any information disclosed to our team remains highly confidential.

Our signpost highlights the different services our providers are able to offer. Patients are welcome to contact the practice to discuss who else they may be able to see instead of a GP. We are aware of the long wait to see a GP and therefore continue to work with our team to provide suitable alternative options of care for our patients.

To get in touch, please contact us on Ph: 03 578 0199