Appointments

Appointments are usually up to 15 minutes

Consultations at Halswellhealth are by appointment only except in the case of emergency. Appointments can be booked online or by ringing the practice. 

  • A standard appointment is 15 minutes 
  • An appointment is required for every person attending for medical advice/treatment. 
  • A longer appointment is necessary if you have a list of issues to discuss or a complex issue and allows your GP to give you the best care possible.  
  • Your GP may ask you to make another appointment if your issue cannot be managed within the time booked. 
  • New patients to the practice require a 30 minute appointment with their registered GP.  

 Longer appointments are required for the following and must be booked by ringing the surgery as not all our clinicians offer all these services: 

  • Minor surgery 
  • IUD/Mirena/contraceptive implant 
  • Insurance medicals 
  • Complex or multiple issues to discuss 
  • Driver’s license medical 

At times we may run late due to an emergency, and we ask for your understanding. Please call us if you are running late for your appointment. 

We encourage patients to have their own doctor to receive the best care. It can also be helpful to have another “back up” GP that you see when your GP is unavailable.  

20% of appointments are available for on the day booking for acute and urgent issues. Please ring the practice if this is required and we will do our best to accommodate your needs. 

Routine cervical screening appointments are available in our nurse-led clinic. Our GPs do not offer routine cervical screening. 

Travel appointments are available via our travel clinic. These appointments do not carry a subsidy and incur a higher fee. 

Driver’s license appointments

You’ll need to present a medical certificate when: 

  • applying for or renewing a heavy vehicle licence (class 2,3,4,5), unless you’ve provided a certificate within the last five years
  • applying for or renewing endorsements for passengers (P), vehicle recovery services (V), driving instruction (I) or testing officer (O) unless you’ve provided a certificate within the last five years
  • you have a medical condition that may affect your ability to drive safely
  • you’re an older driver obtaining or renewing any licence class or endorsement beyond your 75th birthday

We recommend that the GP that knows you best completes your medical assessment but we understand this may not always be possible. If you do book with another GP it is possible that you may be asked to return to see your own GP if you have complex health issues. There are very strict rules for GPs completing these assessments which are in place to try and keep our roads as safe as possible. 

Please book this assessment by ringing the practice and informing the reception that the appointment is for a driver’s licence medical as extra time is allowed. 

A dedicated appointment is required for the assessment. The nurse will complete a test of your vision before you see the GP and then your GP will go through the assessment and fill out the required documents. It is not possible to deal with other health issues during this appointment. 

There is no government subsidy for these appointments and there is no subsidy for CSC holders. If further investigations are required e.g. a MINI-ACE, ECG then extra charges will apply. 

https://www.nzta.govt.nz/driver-licences/getting-a-licence/medical-requirements/how-to-show-that-you-are-medically-fit/ 

Cancellations

If you no longer require your booked appointment, please cancel it in good time so that another patient can be seen. You can ring us or, if you have booked online, you can use the online service to cancel the appointment. Please do not email us to cancel an appointment as this may not be seen in time. A cancellation close to the appointment time may result in a fee being charged.

If you fail to attend an appointment and have not contacted us to cancel it, we reserve the right to charge a non attendance fee. Please refer to the section on fees for more information.

Services

Accident care

Assessment and treatment of minor and moderate injuries, including sprains, strains and lacerations.

Well person checks

Available with your Nurse and Doctor.

Childhood immunisation

Our nurses are fully trained vaccinators.

Diabetes care

With your doctor or our diabetes nurse.

Hearing tests

Tympanometry and screening audiometry.

Flu vaccines

Before school checks

Minor surgery

Cervical smears

With your Doctor or Nurse.

Wart treatment

Available daily with your Nurse

Ring Pessary fitting

Insurance medicals

Health Improvement Practitioner

Contraception & family planning

Free for 14-17 year olds enrolled with our practice.

Asthma education

Stop smoking programme

ECG

Available for acute illness or when needed for insurance or other examinations.

Overseas travel advice & immunisation

Illness management

Assessment and treatment of all illnesses. This includes referrals to specialists or other healthcare providers where appropriate.

Spirometry

Mole management

Sleep assessment