APRIL
PAENGA-WHAWHA 2024
Health centre reduces hours
Changes are afoot at Muritai Health Centre, which is reducing the number of hours doctors are available for face-to-face consultations, due to a shortage of doctors. Patients received an email this month outlining the changes, which will see the clinic staffed by Drs Ann Van Der Veen and Peter Barwell Monday, Tuesday and Friday 8.30am – 5pm and Wednesday and Thursday 8.30am-1pm for booked GP appointments . Dr Emily O’Regan will be available for telephone appointments Monday and Tuesday 9am – 1pm, and Thursday 9am – 4pm. That will leave Wednesday afternoon not covered but Green Cross, who owns the practice said a nurse practitioner will be available to triage patients with urgent needs. A local resident, who didn’t want to be identified, contacted The Eastbourne Herald earlier this month concerned that the changes will have a negative impact on elderly patients. Ordering prescriptions and making appointments using the online app Manage My Health will be challenging for many, he said. Green Cross Health Marketing and Brand Manager Johanna Baikie said despite the reduced on-site doctor hours, patients needing to be seen urgently will be seen on the day either by an onsite doctor, or triaged and evaluated by the nursing professional in the practice, she said. “We are making as many appointments available each day as possible.” Patients who require emergency medical attention should always call 111. Ms Baikie said they are actively trying to recruit more doctors for the practice.
Bus stop woes for York Bay residents
Helen Mulgan waiting at the York Bay bus stop, now closed until December. Photo: Phil Benge.
York Bay residents are up in arms following the sudden closure of the bus stop sheltering them while awaiting buses heading into Lower Hutt, Petone and Wellington. Residents found out about the stop's closure by chance when they opened the Metlink app to see the stop had been removed. Three days before the event, it was too late to try and stop it. The bus stop, built in the 1980s, is a safe and sheltered place for those catching buses, York Bay Residents’ Association chair Anna Sutherland told last week’s Eastbourne Community Board meeting. Ms Sutherland questioned the decision that would see residents
walking nearly half a kilometre to the nearest bus stop, in Mahina Bay. She said communication had been poor, with residents given little time to prepare. While she was in support of the shared path project, the lack of communication and temporary bus stop in the bay needed to be addressed. “Tupua Horo Nuku will be incredible for our community. I’ve wanted it for my children to get to school and now it will be our grandchildren who get to use it,” Ms Sutherland said. Continues on Page 4
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PETONE 25 Bouverie Street Phone: 569 8311
UPPER HUTT 9 Park Street Phone: 527 2227
PORIRUA 3 Semple Street Phone: 233 8009