Winter is here

 The temperatures are dropping and winter is definitely upon us. Like every year, the season brings many illnesses such as flus, colds and other respiratory infections, while covid is still here and affecting people.

We unfortunately all experience flu-like symptoms at times and get sick with one of those winter illnesses. If you are feeling unwell with cough, fever, headache, sore throat or other flu-like symptoms and have an appointment booked with us or would like to see one of our clinicians, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We will find the best way to care of you. You can still come in and be looked after; we will just prepare for it and try our best to prevent the spread of those illnesses. We ask that patients wear a mask when visiting us as this helps too.

What we do not want is our patients cancelling their appointments or not contacting us because of having those symptoms and not being seen when they really need to.

They are some simple tips to help keep you as safe as possible:

• Wash and dry hands thoroughly including after blowing your nose, coughing and sneezing, and after using the toilet.
• Cough and sneeze into a tissue or your elbow, not your hand
• Regularly clean high touch surfaces such as door handles, taps, phones and more
• Get a flu vaccination. It's FREE for children aged 6 months to 12 years, pregnant women, Māori and Pacific people who are 55 to 64 years, people over 65 and many others.
• Look up healthinfo.org.nz for advice on colds and flus.