• Pregnancy vaccinations
• Childhood immunisation programme
• 65 year old vaccinations
• Adult flu vaccine
• Child flu vaccine
• Diphtheria / Tetanus / Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine
• Measles / Mumps / Rubella (MMR) vaccine
• Meningococcal vaccine
• Shingles vaccine
• Travel vaccinations
• Catch-up missed vaccinations

Immunisation is the safest and most effective way to provide protection for you and your tamariki’s health. For more information view the NZ immunisation schedule.

Your GP's surgery is far more than a place to go when you are feeling unwell and needing a quick cure. The doctor who sees you has gone through an extensive medical training to equip her or him to help children and adults of all ages with a range of physical and emotional difficulties. GPs are at the centre of the healthcare hub and will be aware of services and expertise that are available locally and further-a-field. GPs are also aware of the link that stress and unhappy life events have on physical health so know when to suggest a talking therapy rather than medication.

Waimauku Doctors is a traditional Family Medical Centre offering care from conception to end of life.

All our staff live locally and several have worked here since close to when the original practice opened over 30 years ago.

The area around Waimauku is unique in its wild west coast beaches and forests. It offers Aucklanders a varied and fulfilling lifestyle from farming, winegrowing, adventure tourism, horsing activities, fishing, cycling, hang-gliding, surfing, lifestyle farming and raising Kiwi kids to name a few. As the only local surgery, we are experienced in dealing with the effects of all these activities and enjoy caring for this energetic and caring community.

As there are no close hospital accident departments, we are experienced in dealing with trauma and emergency within the primary care setting.

The surgery is purpose built and offers plenty of parking and easy access.

We have a pharmacy, Waimauku Village Pharmacy www.waimaukupharmacy.co.nz, counselling services  and beauty therapists within the centre.

Primary care practices offer a range of services and are able to deal with most minor accident care. If they are not able to deal with an injury they will refer on to the appropriate service.

We have a dedicated purpose built accident and treatment theatre for all forms of injury.

We offer fracture stabilisation, assessment and if appropriate, plaster casting by our experienced nursing and medical staff.

We undertake wound care, suturing  and dressing management.

Major injuries are cleaned and patient stabilised for transfer to appropriate hospital.

All medical and nursing staff undertake extensive Emergency care courses updated regularly e.g. PRIME.

We work closely with local ambulance and rescue helicopter services.

Minor surgery is commonly provided in primary care practices, providing fast, competent removal and biopsies of skin lesions. Other services include cosmetic work such as removal of benign moles and skin tags. Ingrown toenail surgery is also commonly provided. 
These conditions do not need to be referred to a hospital, perhaps saving you a long wait or a cancelled appointment when a more serious case takes priority.

• Skin lesion removals
• Skin cancer assessments
• Vasectomy
• Ingrown toe nail surgery

Each GP surgery or primary care practice will have its own procedure for repeat prescribing but the following rules are common to most, if not all. Patients who are well-known to the practice who have a stable condition like asthma, hypertension or diabetes could be allowed to get a repeat prescription for up to six months. Repeat prescriptions are never given to patients who are not known to the practice and there is probably a blanket ban on repeats for narcotics and other drugs that could be misused as doctors are expected to monitor these drugs carefully.

We are happy to do phone scripts for medicines that patients are stable on. There is also the ability to request a repeat prescription for regular medication through our patient portal.

We prefer to see all patients within a 6 month time frame. We will not prescribe this way if more than a year has elapsed since a consultation has taken place. This is a medico-legal requirement. It may be necessary to come in for a consultation with the nurse or Doctor before a repeat script can be given.

In the event you have run out of necessary medication completely and if you are a known patient of ours and the Waimauku Pharmacy, the Pharmacist can issue an 'emergency supply' for 7 days only. You must then ensure you contact us to initiate your repeat script.

• Allow 48 hours for checking and issuing
• Repeat scripts cost $28
• We do not email scripts to patients.

If a man decides he does not want to father children, he may choose to have a vasectomy which is a simple and effective method of sterilisation.
During this surgical procedure, the vas deferens (the tubes carrying sperm from the testicles to the penis) are cut. A vasectomy can be carried out in a doctor's surgery and takes between 30 and 60 minutes.

Offered by Dr Mike He.

A consultation with Dr Mike He  is required before making an appointment for the vasectomy procedure. Vasectomies can be scheduled out of routine surgery hours if requested.

Please contact the surgery to arrange your appointment and discuss costs.

Liquid nitrogen is a fast, effective treatment provided in many practices to treat viral warts, sun damaged skin, skin tags and many benign cosmetic lesions. It comes in a container with a nozzle and is usually applied by swab or spray. Often one treatment is all that is needed but sometimes it may need repeating after two weeks.
Because it cannot be stored for too long, you will often find that your GP will treat a number of patients one after the other. 

For more information click here.

We have liquid nitrogen available every day.

Nurses can administer this after consultation with the doctor.

It is an excellent therapy for some warts, sun damaged skin and many other types of benign skin abnormality. Healing usually occurs without scarring

• Implant (Jadelle) inserts
• IUD inserts
• Implant (Jadelle) removal
• IUD removals

LARC methods are very effective at preventing unplanned pregnancy and are “fit and forget” forms of contraception – you don’t need to remember them every day or every month. LARC methods:

• Intrauterine Contraceptive Devices (IUCD or IUD) are inserted through the cervix into a woman’s uterus. IUCDs may be either hormonal (Mirena^® or Jaydess^{® )} or non-hormonal (copper IUCD).
• Jadelle^® is a hormone-releasing implant that is inserted just under the skin of the upper arm.

Depending on the type of device, it will need to be changed after between three and ten years.

Read more about LARC methods here

All women and people with a cervix aged 25 – 69 who have ever had intimate skin-to-skin contact or been sexually active should have regular cervical screening. This includes women who have been immunised against HPV. Together, regular screening and HPV immunisation provide the best protection against cervical cancer.

There are now more options for how you have cervical screening done:

• a simple vaginal swab test for HPV, either done yourself or with help from a healthcare professional
• a cervical sample taken by a healthcare professional (used to be known as a smear test).

Talk with your healthcare provider to decide which option is best for you.

If HPV is found, you may need to have a follow-up test or be referred directly for colposcopy.

If you’ve not yet had HPV testing, you should be screened 3 years after your last test (or 1 year if immune deficient). Once you have had an HPV test, and providing HPV is not found, your next screening will be in 5 years (or 3 years if immune deficient).

For more information: Cervical screening | Time to Screen - National Screening Unit

All doctors can perform smears at Waimauku Doctors. If you would prefer we also have  Nurse smear takers.

An ECG is a recording of your heart's electrical activity. Electrode patches are attached to your skin to measure the electrical impulses given off by your heart. The result is a trace that can be read by a doctor. It can give information of previous heart attacks or problems with the heart rhythm.

We have state of the art equipment with integration into patient record software.

Spirometry is a tool that measures how effectively your lungs are working. It is able to show how much air lungs are able to hold (their volume) and how much air can be breathed in and out (inhaled and exhaled) which is called flow. This tool is used to assess damage caused by conditions like COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – a group that includes bronchitis and emphysema), pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis and asthma. Results are shown on a graph called a pneumotachograph.

For more information click on the following link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirometry

Spirometry is available. 

Another service offered to you at your GP surgery (primary care practice) is advice and immunisation before you go to another country. While you are likely to have the immunisations needed to live in New Zealand, there may be other injections you need to protect yourself before going for example to Africa or South America. In some places you will need protection from rabies or malaria. Yellow fever vaccinations are only available at approved centres; please click here to view the centres in New Zealand. Your doctor will be able to tell you what diseases you will need to be protected from in any named country and advise you on other medical matters. 

Ideally 6 weeks before travelling is a good time to get your vaccinations.

Sometimes your doctor needs to take a sample of blood or urine either to discover what is wrong with you or to measure something in your blood so that the right medication is given to you. These tests could be anything from blood sugar to a full blood count or a sample of tissue to test for cancer.

While urine can generally be tested in the surgery, blood and other specimens are usually sent away for testing at a laboratory. Most results come back within 48 hours unless a very rare test is needed which has to go to a specialist lab further away when it might take a little longer.

For abnormal results the practice nurse or doctor will attempt to contact you; a current cell phone number is preferable.

We do not notify you if your results are normal.

Using the Patient Portal is an ideal way to view your recent lab results, but they will not be displayed in the Portal until they are back from the laboratory and viewed/actioned by the Doctor/Nurse. This can take up to 5 to 10 days depending on the test ordered.

Results are only given to the adult patient they pertain to unless there is prior arrangement for someone else to phone.

All New Zealand children are entitled to 11 free health checks from birth to three years. The checks aim to ensure that children are growing and developing as well as possible. Included in the checks are clinical assessment, health education and family/whānau support.

Baby checks are at birth and then at 24 hours, five days and around 2-4 weeks. Babies are weighed and measured to ensure that they are developing correctly. These sessions provide a great opportunity for parents to ask questions from an expert and have any problem addressed; difficulties with breastfeeding or sleep for example. They can also be used to discuss immunisations and vaccinations. These checks will be carried out by your lead maternity carer (LMC).

Between the ages of 4-6 weeks and three years, there are seven core health checks available, typically these are around 4-6 weeks, 8-10 weeks, 3-4 months, 5-7 months, 9-12 months, 15-18 months and 2-3 years. These checks may be carried out by a Well Child Provider of your choice e.g. Plunket, Māori health provider, community nurse, a general practice team (doctor and practice nurse). Your LMC will be able to give you a list of Well Child Providers in your area.

More information about Well Child services is available on the Ministry of Health website.
 

Waimauku Doctors is very keen to promote good child health. All our nurses are trained in child development and advice.

We have baby scales and length measures.

A patient portal is a secure online tool provided by GP practices that can allow convenient access to your health information as well as interaction with the practice e.g. booking appointments and requesting repeat prescriptions.

You may be asked by Reception or our Clinical staff if you wish to access your Patient Portal (Health 365). To do this, we only require your email address. This address is sent through by us to Health 365. They will then send you back a login and temporary password (which you can change once in the system). 

Children under 16 can be registered for the portal using a parent's email.

Our GP practice has team members who work alongside your doctor and nurses to provide you with a range of mental wellbeing supports and tools. These team members may include Health Improvement Practitioners (HIPs), Health Coaches and Support Workers.

View the following link for more information about wellbeing support in general practice and the national Access & Choice programme.