Dear patients and community,Hi there, please see below for the latest communications update from Queenstown Medical Centre Where we wereCovid-19 has been an enormous challenge for us at Queenstown Medical Centre. Like the government “we went hard and we went early” and had safety measures in place within a matter of days of the first case of Covid-19 being announced in New Zealand. A huge thank you to our dedicated hard-working staff who implemented innovative and fluid processes to help combat the ever-evolving risks we saw pre and during Level 4. And also a huge thanks to you, our patients, for supporting us and cooperating throughout. Where we are now/Level 2The nationwide move to Level 2 is reassuring that Covid-19 is under control. Please help us keep it that way by following all protocols we put in place to ensure the safety of our patients and staff. Our full range of medical services are being offered except for the Travel Clinic. We welcome you all to prioritise your health and contact us. Community SupportQMC is keen to play a part in the recovery of our community in as many ways as we can. We are offering one half-price GP consultation for our enrolled patients. This discount can be redeemed within 6 months of Level 4 ending. Please follow us on Facebook to keep up to date as we announce more free webinars focusing on your health and inform you about vital services we offer that you may be unaware of. From 1 June we are also launching Afterpay - a payment solution that allows 4 instalments over 8 weeks. Manage My Health/Video ConsultationsWe are expecting Manage My Health online bookings to be available soon and are awaiting Ministry of Health guidelines regarding this. Once online bookings are back you will be able to select your preference of either face-to-face, tele consult or video consult. Video consults will be available from week beginning 25 May and booking will be possible through Manage My Health. If you have not already signed up for Manage My Health, please call us and we will talk you through it over the phone. The process will take a maximum of ten minutes. Covid-19/TestingQMC will be a designated testing centre for Covid-possible patients until further notice. We continue to ask patients exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms to attend our Isle St practice and remain in their cars, following clearly signposted triaging instructions. If you believe you require a test you should either arrive at Isle St between the hours of 1pm and 5pm or call ahead and we will add you to the queue for our swabbing clinic that will be operating during those hours. If you have a booked an appointment and you are now experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, please contact the practice. We may require you to attend the Isle Street practice and reschedule your appointment. PLEASE NOTE: Remarkables Park and Arrowtown will remain “green zones” and you must only attend your appointment there if you are Covid symptom-free. Distancing/HygieneQMC will be requesting that all patients observe current physical distancing guidelines of 1 metre apart even in Level 2. For this reason, we will structure our face-to-face appointments to allow physical distancing to succeed by reducing the number of patients in the practices at any one time. You will be able to choose between face-to-face, telephone or video (available via Manage My Health). We will also request that each person entering our practices sanitises their hands on entry. As per the section in this newsletter re. Covid-19, we will maintain a protocol of those with Covid-19 symptoms attending only our Isle St practice, remaining in their vehicles for triaging and entering when guided to do so through a “red zone”. Opening hours from 18.5.20Our opening hours have changed. From Monday 18 May, we will be open as follows: Our Isle St practice GP sessions
As always, please get in touch with your feedback, to contact your medical team, or to make an appointment.We know we have a different road ahead to a new - or perhaps a return back to our old - Queenstown. We will be on that road with you. Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain Kia Kaha – Queenstown Medical Centre team |