Your Health
mASTERTON MEDICAL VISION STATEMENT
At Masterton Medical we work as a team to deliver a consistent high standard of service. We are also part of a wider team of health providers within our community.
Through our combined experience and care we continually strive to improve the quality of service we offer our patients.
We work together in a safe environment and this is reflected in our professional and friendly approach to our patients and our colleagues.
Februarary 2009
The Future for Masterton Medical
The way we deliver health care is changing.
The future of General Practice is based on a continuing relationship of trust with an individual in the context of their family and community. It provides a focus for community health and healthcare needs.
The Primary Health Care Strategy sets the framework for the way we work.
The challenge for Masterton Medical and all general practice is how to deliver on this strategy in a way that retains the essence of general practice and delivers the best care for our patients and our communities.
The Health Strategy in a nutshell:
- Keeping people well, as well as treating them when they get sick.
- Good health in a community setting rather than a focus on the individual.
- Ensuring all have access to health care, paying attention to those in greatest need.
- A team based approach recognising that no single professional can meet the needs of the patient.
The way you experience health care in the future will change.
You will be challenged to live a healthy lifestyle.
In future, your health professional team will be talking to you about managing ‘long term conditions’ like asthma and diabetes, and conditions that have the potential to develop into something more serious.
Don’t be surprised if we talk to you about your chances of avoiding a heart attack, stroke or something similar. You will be invited to have your cardio vascular risk assessment which will show your personal risk level.
Challenges we face in next ten years
We may have changed the strategy to focus on health and wellness but people keep getting sick – how will we look after our patients in the meantime? Dealing with routine consultations, acute medical problems and delivering a high standard of service after hours will be a challenge.
Having enough trained health professionals, nurses, medical receptionists and doctors tops the list of challenges. Workforce is major issue facing all areas of expertise in New Zealand and health care is no exception.
Making better use of our time and the way our doctors and nurses work is a challenge. Developing a team based approach will be crucial for our future work in primary care.
Nurses
Our challenge is expanding the role of nurses.
A theme we will see emerging is primary care health nurses taking a more direct role in helping people manage long term health conditions in the community, rather than in hospital. This will demand a change in their scope of practice and a requirement for new and different skills. The professional training and development of the nurse workforce will be a major challenge.
Nurse led clinics – nurses will work with patients to educate and encourage the establishment of good health and lifestyle practices for body and mind. The goal is to reduce the incidence of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and stress related illness.
Doctors
Many of the GPs in the Wairarapa will have retired in 5 – 10 years: the challenge is who will replace them. It is very difficult to attract doctors from overseas. We can offer them a good lifestyle in the Wairarapa but not the sort of money that can be earned in the UK or Australia. Our challenge is to grow and pick our own.
We need to train more GPs in and for the Wairarapa.
Wairarapa Hospital employs Junior Doctors - House Surgeons and Registrars -who work successfully as part of the team alongside the nurses and senior doctors.
In future you will find more and more junior and trainee doctors working in general practice in the Wairarapa. As a patient you may be asked if it is ok for an advanced medical student to sit in with your GP during a consultation.
New Doctors
With growing demand on GP services, Masterton Medical will continue to provide the community with excellent medical and nursing care now and in the future. Bringing in new GPs means we will continue to be able to meet the health needs of the expanding community.
Vision for the years ahead
Masterton Medical will continue to focus on initiatives that provide improvements to health care throughout the community. Creating a better information flow between general practice and the hospital and other service providers is high on the list of priorities.
Nurse led clinics will develop further preventative care services for patients. We aim to educate the community on how they can achieve healthier lifestyles with longer, healthier lives, reducing the overall number of chronically ill people in our community.
December 2008
CARE PLUS
Our Care Plus is a Primary care Initiative funded by the Ministry of Health, designed to enhance care for patients who have high health needs. This programme is designed to reduce visits to the doctor by managing chronic illnesses...+ read more
NURSE CLINICS
A theme we see emerging is primary care health nurses taking a more direct role in helping people manage long term conditions in the community, rather than in hospitals...+ read more
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
We have a great opportunity for you to join a progressive and friendly 10 doctor practice in Masterton, in a new, purpose built medical centre...+ read more
