Paul Cocks, General Manager of Masterton Medical, says this is an abridged service but staff are now taking routine bookings again. “We are running at 70% capacity and we are trying to replicate the systems and services we offered in our other building. We will try to book patients in to see their usual doctor , although because we have had to juggle rosters and rooms we cannot guarantee that. We have extra staff on phone triage and our afterhours phone service will continue as usual after 6pm from 49 Lincoln Road. ED at Wairarapa Hospital is for emergencies only.”
There is limited space at 49 Lincoln Road but extra consultation rooms with partitions on level 2 have been set up and there is a triage area on the ground floor to manage the flow of patients up to the clinic . There is now a separate treatment bay with three extra treatment rooms set aside for acute patients. Over the next two weeks the practice will be open from 8.30am – 6pm.
“It will be some months before our previous building is refitted,and so we are exploring relocation options with the DHB,” says Mr Cocks. “There is a building available on the Wairarapa Hospital site but it will need refitting before we can move in. We need to sort out computer, phones and power needs first. Meanwhile some of our services have already shifted to other locations –for example the Before School Checks are now being done at Whaoira in Park Street and the ‘To be Heard’ Programme will see MML patients at Compass Health in the WINZ building.”
It is business as usual for the Masterton Medical Pharmacy and Medlab. They are still operating from their usual premises at 24 Lincoln Road, so patients are no longer required to access the hospital service.Te Rangimarie, Masterton Medical’s marae clinic in Cole Street is open for consultations from 8.30am to 12.30pm Monday to Friday.
Mr Cocks says there have been many offers of help and support. “We have had overwhelming support from the community and really appreciate the many messages we have received. We thank our many patients who have called, other practices, Compass Health, the DHB, and all those who have offered support. Cleaning up after the fire is well underway. We are doing everything we can to get our regular service back to normal and staff are working hard to keep everything as normal as possible. We have set up a Facebook page to let the public know what’s happening and information is also on our website.”
ENDS
Paul Cocks
General Manager Masterton Medical
027 752 4936
