COVID vaccination has now been extended to Group 4 which includes all over the age of 60. This includes anyone over 16 with certain underlying conditions. Please visit the the DHB Covid Vaccination website for current details.
Vaccinations are by appointment only so please phone 0800 829 001 to book your appointment.
COVID vaccination continues to roll out over the Bay of Plenty with a clinic in Kawerau every Monday and Tuesday. All people in Group 3 are currently eligible. This includes all over 65 years of age and anyone over 16 with certain underlying conditions. Please visit the the DHB Covid Vaccination website for current details.
Vaccinations are by appointment only so please phone 0800 829 001 to book your appointment.
Next week there will only be a Influenza Vaccination Clinic on Thursday 29 April from 2:30 to 4pm. This is still only for patients aged 65 and over.
We have had an excellent response to date with many vaccinations done. The vaccine for those under 65 will become available next month and we will update details once this has arrived
With Kawerau making the news as a location that has residents who were in contact with COVID positive cases in Taupo, there is going to be a community swabbing centre running this Sunday 27 September from 10:00am to 2:00pm. This will be at the usual location, the Ron Hardie Recreation Centre.
Close contacts have been contacted by Public Health and are being managed with isolation and testing. It is important for anyone with symptoms to get a test done and to remain at home if sick.
Please take the opportunity to get a test on Sunday if you feel you need one. Do not wait for after the weekend as we have very limited capacity for swabbing in General Practice.
Things are slowly settling into a “new normal” with the risk of COVID-19 significantly diminished. Our waiting room is again open but we need to keep numbers low with safe spacing. This means that the previous walk-in clinics can no longer be safely run. We still have morning clinics for brief urgent problems but these are all by appointment only, so please phone if you want to book into this clinic. We still offer phone consultations if you feel your problem can be managed in this way.
We still need to keep people with respiratory illnesses outside of the main surgery building as much as possible to limit the risk of spreading illness to staff or other patients. Signs are displayed prominently asking anyone with coughs or colds to put on a mask and contact us from their car. They are then triaged to be seen in the surgery or in the cabin behind the surgery. Please follow this advice to help us to keep delivering safe services to the community.
We have unfortunately had a number of people wander in and ignore the information, sit coughing in the waiting room and then head in to see a doctor or nurse while clearly infectious. This places the whole service at risk as when any of us come down with illness we can no longer come in to work. Please be considerate of others and stay away from work while sick.
The COVID-19 lockdown has seen a dramatic decrease in winter colds but this gain will be quickly lost if sick people spread the viruses through the community and we drop our guard with cough etiquette and hand hygiene.
On a brighter note we have had a lovely display put up in the waiting room by the tamariki of Room 6 at Kawerau South School as an appreciation for essential workers that kept things running through lockdown. This has really brightened the waiting room and, along with all the cherry trees bursting into bloom, reminded us that Spring is on the way