- Phone 07 867 7521
- Facebook @healthngatea
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At our practice it is important to us to have a high-quality, sustainable rural GP service in Ngatea and also the surrounding areas; We have been serving the Hauraki Plains, Mangatangi, Kaiaua, Mangatawhiri, Waitakaruru, Kerepehi, Miranda, Hunua; Te Kauwhata; Pipiroa; Paeroa and the wider Thames community for over forty years. We are a very experienced team and pride ourselves on being a Rural Practice, which is warm and welcoming to all members of our community.As a GP led clinic, we continue to strive to provide the best experience to our patients. We enjoy being part of our community and believe in partnering with our patients to improve their health and well-being. We are always looking for ways to innovate and improve the service and appreciate your feedback.
Practice Hours:
Monday to Friday: 9.00 – 5.00pm (by appointment from 9am to 4:15pm)
Pathlab Hours:
We are an Agency for Pathlab and offer appointments Monday to Friday between 9am – 3pm
After Hours Phone 07 884 8053
You will be put through to an after-hours service where you will be triaged by a Kaiāwhina or Nurse.
After Hours Care Arrangements:
This practice provides 24-hour care for patients via a phone triage system.
Please call us on 0786 77521 and your call will be put through to the on-call service where you will be triaged.
On Arrival:
Please report to the receptionist. This alerts the doctor to your arrival. Let reception know if you have had an accident or if you require urgent attention. A wheelchair or walker is available if required.
Routine Appointments:
Please call 07 86 77521 for an appointment. Routine appointments are for conditions or services that are not immediately affecting your health such as repeat medications or filling out paperwork.
When possible plan your appointments ahead of time to ensure you can see the doctor of your choice, at the time you choose.
You may be asked the reason for your appointment. This allows the practice to plan the appropriate time and any necessary equipment for your appointment. If the appointment is of a personal nature and you do not wish to disclose to the receptionist, please feel free to tell them it is personal, and they will happily respect this.
Please tell us if more than one family member needs to be seen or if you require some extra time. If you or a family member requires an interpreter service, we can organise this for you. Please let us know this when you make the appointment.
Urgent Appointments:
Our staff are in attendance between 08.30am and 5.00pm weekdays. Every effort will be made to see all genuinely urgent cases at the earliest opportunity. At Health Ngatea we run a phone triage system. This means that if you ask for an appointment on the same day, you will be rung back by a doctor or a nurse to discuss the appointment. This allows us to ensure that those patients who have illnesses immediately affecting their health, can be seen first. It also allows us to look at managing some problems in different ways, often saving patients from needing to come into the practice at all. We keep several appointments open for patients who have immediate health requirements so that they can be seen as soon as possible. If you feel you have an urgent condition, please tell the staff on the phone or at Reception.
Phone Consults:
If you have a problem that does not need an examination, it may be possible to have a phone consult. These can be booked through Reception and the Doctor will ring you back at a specified time. The advantage to phone consults, is that you don’t need to come into the practice, and they can be done wherever you are.
Patient Portal:
Our practice believes that great health care involves the patient as much as possible. To help with this, we have a patient portal. This is available through a website or smart phone app, and can be used to book appointments, email the doctor, see your notes, and look at your blood tests results. This is the easiest way to contact the practice for non-urgent issues. Contact Reception to register. This is a free service.
Results
We encourage patients to access their test results through the patient portal, as this is where they are available at the earliest opportunity. You will be contacted by phone or email if there are significant results. We are unable to contact everyone with normal, routine results due to the large number of results we receive, however we encourage you to ring for your results if you are concerned, or just want to know your results. Or better still, join the patient portal and you will be notified by email as soon as they are available.
Teamwork:
At Health Ngatea we like to work as a team. If your doctor is away, another doctor in the team will check your results and contact you if there are concerns. We encourage patients to choose a doctor as their main provider, however all team members have access to the patients notes to ensure they are able to access the information they need should the main provider be away from the practice. Several of our patients who are high users of the services, may have one or more GPs who are familiar with their case, so that they have an option if one is away. Please discuss this with your doctor if you wish to have another doctor involved in your care.
Services Available:
General medical practice care, routine preventive medical checks, routine well child health checks, family planning, cervical smears, pregnancy tests, pessary management, vaccinations, minor surgery, liquid nitrogen freezing therapy, asthma and diabetes care, blood pressure checks, smoking cessation, men’s health checks, ear microsuction clinics, LARCS – IUD insertions and removals, skin checks and HIP (Health Improvement Practitioners).
Home visits may be necessary for some patients. These are arranged according to patient and doctor requirements.
Visiting Specialists
Richard Sommerville – Orthopaedic Specialist
Also available within the Medical Centre: Pathlab, Counselling, Plunket, and Physio.
Fees and Billing Arrangements:
A full list of our fees is available at Reception.
Fees are payable at the time of consultation. Unpaid consultations will incur an administration fee and if not paid within 2 months may be sent to Debt collection services.
If you anticipate that payment may be a financial difficulty, please ask one of our friendly admin ladies to set you up on an automatic payment system. If we can support you in this way, it may be a preferred option to you.
Phone calls:
The doctors prefer not to interrupt your appointment for phone calls as much as possible. They are therefore unable to be contacted directly by phone. The practice nurses, wherever possible will deal with phone calls in the first instance. It may also be possible to book a phone consult with a doctor if you need a consult, but don’t need to come in.
Reminder System:
Our practice is committed to preventive care. We may send you a reminder from time to time offering you preventive health services appropriate to your care. If you do not wish to be part of this recall system, please discuss this with a doctor or practice nurse.
Management of your Personal Health Information:
Your medical record is a confidential document. It is the policy of this practice to always maintain security of personal health information and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff.
Your Rights:
In providing a quality health service this practice complies with the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights. We encourage feedback from our patients regarding our services. We have a couple ways to provide feedback. There is a suggestion box in the waiting room with a pad and pen, you can use this for comments or suggestions. Alternatively speak to one of our friendly staff who are always ready to listern.
If you feel your rights have been breached please let us know, we welcome any opportunity to improve our standard of service and uncover any problems. You may make a complaint verbally or in writing. If you feel that you are unable to do so, you may have the support of an independent advocate from the Health and Disability Commissioners office by phoning 0800 11 22 33. For more information about our complaints process please ask any member of staff.
For more information about our complaints process please ask any member of staff.
Heidi is an advanced artificial intelligence tool that assists our healthcare providers by taking notes during consultations. It works seamlessly in the background, capturing important details of your visit, including your symptoms, medical history, and the recommendations provided by your doctor. By automating the note-taking process, Heidi ensures that accurate and comprehensive medical records are maintained without interrupting the flow of your appointment.
Why Use Heidi?
Patient Privacy and Consent
Your privacy is our utmost priority. If at any time you feel uncomfortable with the use of Heidi during your consultation, please inform your General Practitioner (GP). We respect your preferences and will ensure that alternative note-taking methods are employed to document your visit.
Heidi represents an exciting step forward in our commitment to using technology to enhance patient care. We believe this tool will greatly improve the accuracy, efficiency, and overall quality of your healthcare experience.
If you have any questions or concerns about Heidi, please do not hesitate to discuss them with your GP or any member of our healthcare team. Your comfort and confidence in our services are paramount to us.
