Alexandra’s HealthCentral is trialling new opening hours on a Saturday for routine, urgent care and walk-in appointments.

HealthCentral general practitioner (GP) director Kate Dixon said they are committed to finding ways to reduce barriers in access to care by extending hours and offering routine appointments on Saturdays to their patients in addition to providing urgent care.

“We’ve had two Saturday’s so far, and it is gaining momentum.

“We’re still busy at the moment with lots of visitors in town but we’re hoping to get routine appointment numbers up,” Kate said.  

Routine appointments are for chronic medical conditions, planned care and items such as blood pressure checks or repeat prescriptions.

Dr Kate Dixon moved to Alexandra in 2016 and has a special interest in women’s and children’s health 

The extended Saturday service is currently on a trial basis until March 31, 2023 and then the service will be evaluated. 

The launch of the new Saturday offering happened on January 7.

The Saturday service will be staffed by a GP or nurse practitioner (NP) and a nurse.

People attending on Saturday will be asked to complete a short survey either by phone, online or on paper.

This is a chance for patients to give feedback on the future development of Saturday’s service.

Outside of these hours a GP/ NP is contactable through the usual number (03 440 0295) and triage through Whakarongorau Aotearoa (8am to 6pm).

More changes are coming for HealthCentral, with a new facility in the pipeline. Read an earlier story about this here.

Saturdays new trial hours for HealthCentral here.

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