Tarawera Medical Centre

Tarawera Medical Centre celebrates 30 years

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The original 104 Onslow Street building
Margaret Paul and Christine Tew at Reception
Dr. Tony Whitehead looking a little younger than in 2019
Margaret Paul celebrates 30 years with Tarawera Medical Centre
Aerial view of the Tarawera Medical Complex comprising Tarawera Medical Centre, Tarawera Pharmacy, Tarawera Physiotherapy and Pathlab
Entry to Tarawera Medical Centre
View from the Pathlab side of the complex
Tarawera Pharmacy and Tarawera Physiotherapy with Tarawera Medical Centre and Pathlab beyond
Pathlab, Tarawera Medical Centre and Tarawera Pharmacy and Tarawera Physiotherapy
View from Onslow Street

On 5 September 2019, Tarawera Medical Centre celebrated 30 years since opening in Kawerau. One of our staff, Margaret Paul, has been with the practice since it opened in 1989 and had been practice nurse with one of the practices that formed the Medical Centre prior to the opening. Before  that she had been one of the midwives at the Kawerau Maternity Unit (along with Jeanette Edwards, another of the current Practice Nurses) so has made an incredible contribution to the population of Kawerau. 

This 30 year milestone was celebrated with a morning tea and presentation to Margaret in recognition of her service to the community and the Medical Centre.

The gallery of images has a few from the film days of 1989 and some more recent pictures. Margaret is only one of our dedicated staff, many who have years of service and are the backbone of the medical centre team. 

30 years has seen some remarkable changes with handwritten appointment books, records and scripts being replaced by computerised systems.  In 1989 Tarawera Medical Centre became the first group practice in Kawerau with doctors Tony Whitehead and John Anderton, and offered visiting Orthopaedic specialist clinics which continue to this day. Addition of an onsite  Medical Laboratory service was another first for Kawerau. More recently Tarawera Pharmacy and Tarawera Physiotherapy, which are independent businesses, added to the range of services available onsite. Tarawera Medical Centre has always been completely owned by the practicing doctors so we have been able to pursue a philosophy of quality care without the pressure of outside shareholders prioritising profit over patients. A number of our staff have  pursued further study and qualifications to expand the range of medical, surgical and nursing services available to patients in Kawerau.

Influenza Vaccine

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The annual Influenza vaccine is now available. Drop in as soon as convenient to avoid a last minute rush.

It is free to those over 65 and patients under 65 with certain medical conditions. Shingles vaccine is also funded for patients between 65 and 80 and can be given at the same visit.

Thie influenza vaccine may be contraindicated for patients on 4 specific anticancer treatments so please advise the staff if taking any of the following from an Oncologist;

  • atezolizumab (TECENTRIQ®),
  • ipilimumab (YERVOY®),
  • nivolumab (OPDIVO®)
  • pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®)

 

Summer Holidays 2018-19

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Kotare in a Pohutukawa tree

Tarawera Medical Centre would like to wish all our patients a safe and happy Christmas and New Year. This week is the last normal week before the holidays with the following 2 weeks having Tuesday and Wednesday as Public Holidays. Now would be a good time to check that you have enough of your medicines to last through the holidays and order/collect repeats this week if needed.

We will be closed on Christmas and Boxing Day, New Year and 2nd January but open normal hours on;

Monday 24th and 31st December

Thursday 27th December and 3rd January

Friday 28th December and 4th January

When we are closed the normal nurse triage is available by phone as is the GP afterhours service at Whakatane Hospital.

Summer holidays 2017-18

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Sarah with the artistic display she has created for Christmas

Sarah with the artistic display she has created for the notice board in the waiting room

We would like to wish all our patients a safe and happy Christmas and New Year over the summer holidays. Our resident artist, Sarah Morris, has created a lovely seasonal display in the waiting room. This has a reminder about our hours over the holidays. Basically we are open normal hours except for the stat holidays.

Closed Saturday 23 – Tuesday 26 December,

Open as usual Wednesday 27, Thursday 28 and Friday 29 December,

Closed Saturday 30 December – Tuesday 2 January,

Open as usual Wednesday 3, Thursday 4  and Friday 5 January

When we are closed the usual nurse triage service is available by phone and the usual GP afterhours clinics are availabe at Whakatane Hospital.

A reminder to make sure that you have enough of your regular prescription medications prior to the holidays. Repeats can be requested via our email prescription request.

We have had an early start to summer with the good sunny, dry weather which has been great for the beach but is a reminder to be careful in the sun. Try and avoid the sun and seek shade, use long sleeved sun protective clothing, a wide brimmed hat and plenty of sunscreen. See the Sunsmart website for more info on the usual Slip, Slop, Slap and Slide advice. The sun protection alert above shows the hours that sun protection is advised for our region of the North Island and updates daily.

Winter illnesses

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The winter season is well and truly upon us with this cold snap and the past few weeks has seen a real run of colds and the first real cases of influenza for the year. Remember that most winter illnesses are caused by viruses and don’t benefit from, nor respond to, antibiotic treatment. Unnecessary use of antibiotics enables bacteria to develop antibiotic resistance so it is unwise to take an antibiotic “left over” from a previous course prescribed for you or someone else. The old fashioned advice of using Paracetamol to help fevers, aches and pains, along with some rest and plenty of fluids remains valid today. Lozenges, gargles and lemon drinks can all help soothe the symptoms while your immune system overcomes the infection. Covering your face when coughing or sneezing, using disposable tissues and washing hands can help limit the spread of infection. Morning walk-in clinics for our enrolled patients are running at full capacity so there can be a bit of a wait. Influenza is vaccine preventable and it’s not too late to have the vaccine which is free to over 65s and others with certain conditions.

This page from the NHS on Winter Illnesses has some interesting facts