New Phone Triage Service at our Thames Whānau Health Centre

03 Jun 2024

With increasing GP (Doctor) and NP (Nurse Practitioner) shortages in Aotearoa, we have been forced to make changes to our walk-in acute services at our Te Kauaeranga (Thames) Whānau Health Centre. 

The staffing crisis, affecting the whole of Aotearoa, means we are no longer able to provide the walk-in acute service. We will therefore be changing the way we provide care to ensure that we are still able to meet the needs of our enrolled whānau and those in our area.

We will now be offering:

Booked appointments
An appointment booked for a scheduled time and date in the future for non-urgent health needs.

Phone triage only
This is a process where the GP or NP will call you to briefly assess your issue over the phone. It is not intended to be a phone consult, but instead a short call to determine if you need to be seen that day. Where necessary, they will arrange an appointment for you, or solve the issue over the phone.

Outcomes for whānau

The positives of this situation will be the shortening of waiting times, from eight weeks to a few weeks, as our GPs and NPs will be able to focus on patient care.  This will increase your ability to be seen in a timely manner and also allow for better continuity of care for you and your whānau, strengthening the relationship between you and your clinician.

Please be patient with us over the next three months as we make this change to improve the health care delivery that we hold so dear at Te Korowai Hauora o Hauraki.