The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners

Torbay Health - Media Release 12 October 2011

The centre, managed by four partners, was officially opened by Minister of Health, Hon. Tony Ryall today in a ceremony which included a plaque unveiling and a tour through the new facility.

Torbay Health will provide a one stop shop for the growing population on the North Shore. Along with GP consultations, there will be nurse led clinics for health promotion and chronic illness such as diabetes and heart disease, plus a midwife led obstetric service. A laboratory and theatre for minor surgery have been set up on site too. Torbay Physiotherapy and Hand Clinic and Torbay Pharmacy are integrated into the new centre.

Using technology, being used for the first time in New Zealand, the centre offers an on-line booking service so patients can make appointments directly with their GP. Similarly, patients can request prescriptions on-line, as well as being able to access their health records on-line wherever they are in the world.

“Ultimately this will develop into e-consultations, where we will be able to offer the fastest, most convenient service for our patients,” says one of the partners Dr David Thompson, “Our centre uses the most innovative technology available and it’s fully integrated, for example, the pharmacist can check prescription accuracy via direct access to the patient’s record on the spot without the usual delays.”

A fully serviced Skin Cancer Clinic, offering the latest in skin cancer detection technology will offer a new and affordable model of screening and detection and will meet the rapid rise in skin cancer rates in our ageing population.

The clinic has been asked to pilot the new Bowel Cancer screening programme by Waitemata PHO prior to the project being rolled out nationwide.

Dr Thompson says there are several other projects in the pipeline including an exciting pilot to target younger patients at high risk for heart attacks, working with them closely to achieve better health before they develop a heart condition.

“This new centre provides us with the perfect platform to progress those projects,” he says.

The team at Torbay Health is grateful for the assistance of Ngati Whatua in preparing for the official opening and looks forward to growing a partnership with them in future.

Torbay Health was formerly the Torbay Medical Centre, a centre that had been operating in the area for 30 years. The centre is now open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm but will move into a 7 day a week service including Accident & Emergency and onsite radiology in the next two years.

For further information, please contact;

David Thompson 0274 773 500

or

Lynda Thwaites 021 674 244

This release has been distributed on behalf of Torbay Health by Goode PR. Please contact Belinda Abernethy or phone 09 480 9948 for further information.