Winton Medical Services

28/10/2025

High Risk of a Measles Outbreak

Kia ora everyone, there is an escalating national risk of measles in New Zealand, with cases reported around the country.

Measles spreads very easily through coughing and sneezing, and can be serious—especially for babies, young children, and those who aren’t fully immunised.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Check that you and your family are fully immunised with two doses of the MMR vaccine.

Getting two doses of the MMR vaccine after 12 months of age protects 99% of people from measles

Many adults and born between 1969 and 2004 in Aotearoa New Zealand were not vaccinated against measles.

Adults need to be up to date with MMR vaccinations to protect themselves and their community.
For best protection, 2 doses are needed, a minimum of 4 weeks apart

The MMR vaccine is free for everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand under the age of 18. It does not matter what your immigration status is.

If you are 18 and over, the MMR vaccine is free if you are eligible for funded healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand.

If you’re unsure, contact us!

Ngā mihi,
Winton Medical Services

23/10/2025

We hope everyone is doing OK after the mad day yesterday! The Medical Centre is open and operating on our generator! Due to the length of time it was running, the diesel supply was pretty low. A massive thank you to CJ Phillips Contracting for coming to fill it up for us!! Also to my big bro for arranging that. I guess I owe you a favour now.....😆…
Mark Jesperson, thank you for sorting our plumbing issues our so quickly – we do greatly appreciate your help!
We are seeing patients – but there may be some delays as we are not fully staffed today. If you can’t wait, we can re-book you.
We are doing blood tests, as the courier that takes them to the lab in Invercargill is running.
If you bring your charging cord down, you can even charge your phone while you are here!
If you can’t get through by phone but are in a position to come down, our nurses can triage you in person today.
Thank you all for your help, support and patience. Please take good care, and we will all keep our fingers crossed the power comes back on soonish.

23/10/2025

Notice: The liquid nitrogen clinic is cancelled today. Please stay home and stay safe

30/09/2025

🌿 Do you need extra practical support with your health and wellbeing? 🌿

Your Community Support Worker at Winton Medical Centre may be able to help — and the service is completely free for Winton Medical patients.

👉 Vivienne can support you with things like:

Linking to local resources and services

Overcoming barriers to care

Support with long-term conditions (exercise groups, nutrition goals, lifestyle changes)

Help if you’re experiencing anxiety, isolation, loss, or trauma

Accessing counselling, Disability Allowance, Community Services Card, or WINZ support

Transport issues – getting to appointments

Accessing hearing tests/aids, glasses, or IT support

Finding a hobby, social group, or community activity

Budgeting support or help accessing food

Learning strength and balance exercises at home

Addressing vaccination barriers or planning an Advanced Care Plan

✨ If you are a patient at Winton Medical, you can self-refer.
📞 Just call the Medical Centre and ask for Vivienne to get in touch.

We’re here to help you take the next step in your wellbeing journey 💙

25/09/2025

17/08/2025

Dear patients, I am a bit behind the eight ball sorry, but letting you know that Dr Angel Eads has now left us for big city life in Christchurch. Our original agreement was for her to be with us for 6-12 months and she stayed for 15 months, so that was a bonus.
Dr Ruth Alberts who was filling in for Dr Caroline Stewart finished her time with us, and Dr Stewart is now back from her holiday.
We have a registrar, Dr Steven Muragayah with us for 6 months. Dr Steven is a very experienced doctor, but has now shifted his focus to being a GP. You may be aware that Winton Medical is a training practice. We regularly have student nurses, student doctors and registrars with us. They are overseen by Dr White and Dr Stewart, to get a taste of working in a rural GP practice.
Our other mainstay GPs are Dr Kirsty Thwaites and Dr Aisha Paulose. We really need at least one more full time GP, and have been advertising to no avail. I am now talking to recruitment agencies in the UK and America........
Dr Mike Steiner is with us on a Monday and Tuesday for another month. We have been very grateful to have him for the time we have.
Dr Johnny Vere-Hodge is still filling in some days with us - but is not a regular GP at Winton.
Our shift to our new computer system has gone well. Mostly.... There have been a couple of decent 'hiccups', which we are still working through. Our team have greatly appreciated everyone's patience with us while we navigate the new system. We are definitely picking up speed, and seeing the benefits of shifting! That includes our plan to open up the patient portal soon(ish). Watch this space in September..... (I am confident the space won't be blank like last time! )☺️ We hope this will also help reduce the phone traffic through reception. Unfortunately even with 4 people answering the phones at times, we are still not able to answer all the calls. We know this is frustrating, and we do apologise.
Our books are unfortunately still closed to new patients. With shifting systems, and Drs leaving we just don't have the capacity currently to keep providing appointments to our enrolled patients, and take on new patients. We have managed to keep the wait for a routine appointment to about 2 weeks.
Please book in nice and early if you know you need a medication review with your GP. Otherwise the option is that we can provide a 'bridging script' to hold you over until you can get an appointment.
Take good care, there are still a lot of bugs around at the moment. Our team wish you well for calving and lambing. 🐄 🐑. Merrin.