KAWAU BAY HEALTH CENTRE

Dear Patients:

We are now back in Level 3 but we ARE working and we do have plenty of appointments available.

We are also Covid swabbing any patients who are unwell or who may have been in contact with confirmed cases, so if you need to be swabbed because you are unwell or have been in contact with a confirmed case, please contact Reception and a Nurse will call you back to take details and invite you to our "Drive Through" swabbing clinic. Operating in Level 3 means, in most cases, the GP will phone you for a telephone consultation instead of a face-to-face to limit numbers in the clinic and minimise the risk of infection. In most cases Doctors can work just as well over the phone, and offer you your script without a face to face consultation. Where they determine you need a physical assessment they will ask you to attend the clinic - usually within 24 hours.

What Happened
On Tuesday 11 August 2020 at 9.15pm Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced 4 new positive cases of Community Transmission in South Auckland. All 4 cases are members of the same family, but who work across Auckland and the children attend Mount Albert schools. Auckland was put back into Level 3 lockdown.

When
From Wednesday 12th August at 12noon the Level 3 measures came into force and we started phone consultations for all appointments except those the GP requested to come in for physical examination, assessment, skin surgery, childhood Imms, Smears or other surgical procedures.

Why
The level of community transmission is unknown, so we need to act responsibly and reduce the number of sick and vulnerable people gathering in our practices to minimise any risk to themselves or others.

Urgent
We must ALL act now, and once again we have made these serious and drastic changes to ensure that we keep our patients safe and away from cases of Covid19.

• Virtualisation
  During Level 3 you can still call for an appointment. The GP will telephone you and consult with you over the phone, replacing face to face where appropriate (without compromising patient safety). The charge will be as if you were coming into the Practice and include a faxed script if this is needed.
• Routine care
  Continuity of care is really important, and we have plenty of appointments available so please phone us if you need an appointment with a doctor or nurse.
• Scripts and Referrals
  We will be faxing ALL Prescriptions to the pharmacy of your choice. You will need to advise the Practice of your chosen pharmacy at time of ordering, or during your phone appointment with the GP. For repeat prescriptions, you will be charged a faxed script fee, but please do not order your script until your usual repeat times. We will not be generating scripts more than 10 days in advance.
• Labtests
  Labtests in Warkworth are open but are not doing some of the non urgent blood tests during the lockdown. People who need their blood monitoring and testing at Labtests should attend as normal but please be patient as there are some delays in waiting times.
• High Risk Patients
  Immunocompromised, pregnant, patients with complex health conditions and the over 70's need to be extra careful and make sure you are avoiding any unnecessary contact with people other than those in your household.
• Fluvax
  The flu vaccination is still available for anyone who would like to be vaccinated. Please contact Reception for an appointment Warkworth 09 425 1199 or Snells Beach 09 425 5055.

Like us, I am sure you are all disappointed to be back in Level 3 after 102 days without Covid 19 in New Zealand but if we act immediately, working together we can help control any further spread of this deadly virus and save lives.

Best wishes from us all,
Kawau Bay Health Practice Team