After 5 weeks of working with a closed waiting room we are approaching level 3 after the ANZAC holiday. This will see many people who have been on lockdown able to return to work, which is a great step forward. As an essential service we have been running fully staffed the entire time but having to do things a little differently to keep patients and staff safe and maximise the benefits of the lockdown by starving COVID-19 of hosts. 

As a community all of New Zealand can feel proud of what we have achieved in this despite the costs we have paid in loss of income, feelings of isolation in our bubbles and the inconvenience of supermarket queues. On the plus side we have had far fewer winter colds  than usual for this time of year.

As a small town community, Kawerau people have just got on with it and on the whole been very considerate of one another and the challenges we have faced. 

Of concern, though, is that people may be ignoring significant health problems. It is important to understand that the practice is open and we are dealing with all the usual day to day problems that arise. We just need to initially do it remotely but if needed we make an appointment to assess things in person. 

Please don’t delay seeking help for any medical conditions that you may develop. Some problems we can manage by remote consultation, some we will need to see you for and some may need referral to hospital. We have been doing all of this over the past 4+ weeks of lockdown and will continue to in level 3. What we don’t want to see is people who hold off on seeking help for problems until “COVID has settled down” and then find problems that should have been dealt with earlier and have become more complicated or risky by waiting. If you have a concern please contact us and we can make  plans to manage things appropriately. 

We have continued to provide influenza vaccinations and from next week these will be available for people that are not eligible for a free vaccination.