We are offering Rapid Antigen Tests [RATs] according to Ministry of Health [MoH] guidelines. Currently, testing is required for:

– Asymptomatic household contacts on day 3 and 7 of isolation

– Anyone with Covid-19-like symptoms, regardless of whether they are a household contact or not.

Please call reception to book in for a test if you meet this criteria.

We do also have some P.C.R. Covid-19 tests available, but again there are strict guidelines from the MoH about this and most people will only need a R.A.T.

Our staff can advise if a P.C.R. is indicated for you.

If you have completed a R.A.T. at home and it has shown a positive result, please remember to register this on your ‘My Covid Record’ page. This will then notify public health, and also notifies your GP (although it can take a few days for your GP to receive this information).

If you are Covid-19 positive, you and everyone in your household must isolate.

If you are concerned about your general health, breathing, or have any chest pain, call IMC on 03 3516198 or Healthline on 0800-358-5453. If you need urgent medical help, call 111 and tell them you have COVID-19.

For information, support, and advice around being a COVID-19 case, visit https://covid19.health.nz/advice/positive.

Our nurses are happy to advise if you are uncertain about testing criteria, or have any questions that can’t be answered by looking at the MoH website: https://www.health.govt.nz/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-health-advice-public.

We are also offering travel Covid-19 swabs, both R.A.T. and P.C.R., for enrolled patients.

Please call reception to book in for your pre-departure test.

Note: We are unable to advise the swab type or date required for travel. Please check the requirements of your destination country before booking in. P.C.R. test results take 24-48hours to return from the lab.

Following today’s announcement by the Ministry of Health, we expect to be offering R.A.T. testing to patients by mid next week (3rd March 22).  As at today’s date, we have not received supplies from M.O.H. for this testing.  Until we have received these supplies we will continue to booking appointments for Nasal Pharyngeal (PCR) tests.  Tests will only be available for patients who are Household contacts of a known positive case OR anyone who is Symptomatic. Please call reception to book an appointment.

Red settings

We encourage telephone consultations where possible but for those patients needing to be seen in the clinic they will be asked health questions related to Covid symptoms before an appointment can be made. It is very important that these questions are answered honestly.

Both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients can be seen in the clinic but only after being triaged and a mask will be required. Any patients with a mask exemption will need to be seen outside in our Covid cabin – please let the reception team know when you make the booking.,

If you have been in contact with a Covid 19 case within the last 14 please DO NOT come into our building. Speak to reception about booking a telephone consultation.

Patients will need to be a minimum of 1.5 meters apart while sitting in our waiting room.  If we have too many patients waiting, you will be asked to wait outside.

Vaccine passes are not required for patients to enter our building as we are an essential service.

Contractors or visitors (non patients) will be required to show a vaccine pass.

Thank you for your co operation with these processes.

9th July 2021

If you think you have been missed or you don’t have a GP, email COVID19@cdhb.health.nz for booking information.

We would really appreciate it if you wouldn’t contact our reception about booking for your Covid Vaccination.  The best place for up to date information can be found at VaccinateCanterburyWestcoast.nz

We know that our patients are finding it difficult to get good information about when they can expect to be vaccinated.

The information below is current as at 17th June 21

In Waitaha/Canterbury we’re currently vaccinating people in Group 1, Group 2 and a small number of people in Group 3.

• Group 1 includes border and MIQ workers and their household contacts.
• Group 2 includes frontline health workers, people working and living in long-term residential care, Māori and Pacific people aged 70 and over, the people they live with and their carers.
• Group 3 includes people aged 65 and over, people with some underlying health conditions, pregnant people, and people with disabilities, older Māori and Pacific people, the people they live with and their carers.

To roll out the largest vaccination programme in our history we are vaccinating people in groups, starting with those most likely to catch the virus and those most at risk of getting sick.

Our focus is on continuing to get those in Groups 1 and 2 vaccinated and those in Group 3 booked and vaccinated. Everyone in Group 3 will be invited to book their vaccination by the end of July.

From 28 July people in Group 4 will be able to register their details on Book My Vaccine (the new national booking system). Once bookings are open for each age group people will be sent an email or text letting them know it’s their turn to book. Book My Vaccine and a national booking 0800 number will be ready to use from 28 July.

When it is your turn to book an appointment, you will be contacted directly with instructions about how to book. This will be by text, email, letter or phone call.

If you’re in Group 3 and you haven’t been contacted to book your vaccination, you don’t need to do anything right now. you will be contacted when it’s your turn.  Please be patient.

The best place for you to find answers to questions and keep up with progress is our local vaccination website: Vaccinate Canterbury

As our patients will already know, we are a very busy medical centre. We seriously considered a variety of options to deliver the Covid19 vaccine at the practice. Regrettably due to our limited physical space at the practice as well as the existing high workload it not practical for us to be involved in the vaccination program. We simply do not have the physical space required to accommodate the extra vaccination and administration staff that would be required.  Our patients will be contacted by the “Vaccinate Canterbury” team in due course.  We would appreciate you not ringing the practice to ask for information about the Covid Vaccination program as the extra calls are clogging up our phone lines.

We know that our patients will be disappointed that Ilam is not involved in the vaccination program. So are we. All we can do is ask you to be patient and wait to be contacted. Thank you for your understanding.