Northpoint Medical Centre in Albany | Family Doctor in Albany

Comprehensive Family Care

Northpoint Medical & Skin Centre specializes in family medicine. We know how important it is for families to have a doctor that knows and cares about them. Care is provided on a continuing basis with an emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion. Your family doctor is an important part of helping manage your family’s health and well being. We value the trust that families have in our medical advice and seek to constantly update our medical knowledge.

Our service includes the physical, social, behavioral, and psychological care of your family members. We are here with medical expertise when you need us, no matter how old you are or how small or large the problem. Our doctors enjoy the continuum of caring for families over several generations.

Women's Health

We have experienced GPs and a Practice Nurse who is able to assist in women’s health issues. Our services include:

Pap smears
Breast examination
Sexually transmitted infections (STI) screening and advice
Contraception options
Fertility issues
Pre-pregnancy planning and genetic testing for recessive diseases
Antenatal (Obstetric) care
Menopause advice and management
Osteoporosis
Anxiety and depression
Preventive health checks
Eating disorders
Cardiac checks (heart disease is the biggest killer of women)

We believe it is desirable for all women aged over 18 years to attend their GP every 2 years for a women’s health check.

Men's Health

We understand that men have unique needs in terms of health and the way health services are accessed. We provide comprehensive Men’s Health services including:

Comprehensive preventative annual male health checks and screening for the detection of potential health issues
Depression and anxiety
Prostate screening and prostate concerns
Erectile problems
Cardiac risk factor analysis
Sexually transmitted infections (STI) screening and advice
Diabetes management
Male menopause

At the time of booking the appointment, it is suggested you mention to Reception whether you need a full general medical so that sufficient time can be booked.

Children's Health

Our doctors are highly qualified to assess and manage the medical needs of your babies, children, and teenagers. We provide advice and health checks to ensure your child is developing well and remains healthy and happy. We also can provide all the necessary vaccinations and will remind you when they are due.

Our Practice understands the concerns a parent can have about their sick child and we recognize that babies and young children can become unwell very quickly.

Our Practice Policy is to see babies and young children at short notice if a parent has a serious concern. In order to minimize any potential barriers to seeing a doctor with a sick child, simply inform the reception staff and they will look after your needs and ensure an appointment is made as soon as possible.

Family Planning

Advice and treatment are available for all aspects of fertility and contraception at the practice. Please book an appointment with our GP.

Pregnancy Care

We offer free 1st-trimester maternity care for our pregnant patients for up to 13 weeks. This usually involves an assessment with your GP and referral for a pregnancy scan and routine antenatal blood tests.

Your GP will advise you on a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy. It is recommended for women to take folic acid while they are trying to conceive and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy to reduce the risk of spina bifida, and iodine during pregnancy and breastfeeding to reduce the risk of iodine deficiency for mother and baby.

We can also manage problems in early pregnancy and if necessary, facilitate referrals to specialist services. Beyond 13 weeks, our GP can recommend a lead maternity carer (LMC) to look after you for the rest of your pregnancy. This is usually a midwife or obstetrician.

Sexual Health

We offer private and confidential assessments or advice regarding your sexual health.

This includes contraception, education, and sexually transmitted infection (STI’s) assessment and treatment.

Blood Tests

Blood Test services are offered at the practice for *Registered Patients only for a small fee.

Labtest provides courier collection services at our practice for the convenience of our patients.

Immunisations

Immunisation is a way of boosting the body’s immune system against specific infections. We provide a range of different immunisations on-site, many of which are free according to the Government Immunisation Schedule. In addition to the free immunisations we also offer several elective immunisations including:

Flu Vaccines
Gardasil
Varilix
Pneumovax
Boostrix

We also have an efficient recall system to remind you when the next immunisation is due. For more information click on the following link www.health.govt.nz/our-work/preventative-health-wellness/immunisation

Travel Medicines/Vaccinations

Our aim is to provide a one-stop travel health consultation to make your preparations for travel as smooth as possible. If possible, we recommend a consultation at least six weeks before departure. We request you bring the following to your consultation:

Travel itinerary
Any records of previous vaccinations (if any).

Preventative Health & Management of Chronic Conditions

Northpoint Medical & Skin Centre provides basic and comprehensive health checks to manage and assess health status across the life span.

This includes :

Asthma Management Plans
Mental Health Plans
Health assessment for those aged 45-49 years of age
Type 2 Diabetes Risk Evaluation for a patient aged 40-49 years.

If you are interested in completing an assessment, please make an appointment with our GP.

Skin Cancer Clinic

Northpoint Medical & Skin Centre provides skin screening and care with modern, up to date technology. Our doctors have undergone specialized training to enable them to provide the best possible care and expertise for the detection and management of skin cancers.

We recommend regular skin cancer checks, particularly if you spend a lot of time in the sun for work or recreation.

Our services include the following:

screening for skin cancers with skin mapping for future reference
treatment and management of skin cancers including cryotherapy, specialised creams, and surgery
corporate skin checks

A skin check takes around 30 minutes to complete and involves looking at all areas of your body.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in New Zealand, The earlier skin cancer is detected the easier it is to cure and there are now many treatment options available. Anything that is new or changing on your skin should be checked by your doctor. Early detection is important so book your skin check today!

Physiotherapy

Northpoint Medical & Skin Centre has teamed up with So,Physio to offer our valued patients on-site physiotherapy,

Physiotherapist Nicole Kwan believes in a whole-body approach and giving her clients the best care she can offer. Her services deviate from conventional physiotherapy that addresses only symptoms and instead offers an assessment and treatment plan that is aimed at finding the root cause. Nicole believes in optimizing our body and keeping it in check before it starts to break down on us.

For more information, please visit Nicole’s website.

ECG

An Electrocardiography, or ECG, is a machine that attaches to the surface of the skin via electrodes to measure the electrical activity of the heart. We have one on-site and we use it to measure heart rhythm and detect abnormalities.

Prescriptions

Our standard policy is that we need you to have seen a GP within the last six months to be able to request a repeat prescription.

For certain items, we may request that you need to make a doctor’s appointment. For repeat prescriptions online please contact reception to sign up with the patient portal.

Children, 13 Years and Under – Repeat prescription is FREE!

FREE Hearing Screening

At Northpoint Medical & Skin Cancer you will be able to access FREE Hearing Screenings with Dilworth Hearing Audiologist.

Established in 1960 by a group of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists, Dilworth Hearing are pioneers of audiology in New Zealand. They focus on delivering the highest quality of patient care. Call us to book your FREE Screening today! Service is only available for patients that are 18 years and older.

For more information on Dilworth Hearing, please visit their website at https://dilworth.co.nz/about-us/

IV Infusion

Ferrinject

Ferrinject for iron deficiency (ID) of different conditions i.e. associated with non-dialysis and dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD), inflammatory bowel disease, heavy menstrual bleeding, postpartum iron deficiency anemia (IDA), or patients with chronic heart failure and iron deficiency. We can offer intravenous infusions of FERINJECT for treatment of iron deficiency when oral iron preparations are ineffective or cannot be used. The diagnosis must be based on laboratory tests.

Ferrinject can be funded but a Special Authority is required and is dependent on a clinical situation i.e. specialist recommendation after assessment of results. It is up to patients to cover the cost for the infusion if they do not meet the requirement for special funding or they do not wish/intolerant to oral / intra muscular iron injections.

Iron is usually administered orally/ intramuscular injection/ through IV infusion.

Patient Reading Material

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a condition that causes thinning of your bones and affects more than half of women and one third of men over the age of 60. We can offer intravenous infusions of Zoledronic acid (Aclasta®) as an effective treatment against osteoporosis. The medication is injected into the vein in the arm and drips in slowly over 15 to 30 minutes. The number of infusions will depend on your medical assessment.

Minor Procedures

Following review by your doctor, we can facilitate a range of minor surgical procedures in our well-equipped treatment rooms.

These procedures may include:

biopsy and excision of skin lesions
repair of lacerations
Implant insertions and removals (contraceptive implant)
resections of ingrown toenails
removal of cysts and other.

Minor procedures require a longer consult. Please ensure you advise our reception staff upon making an appointment so that we can ensure adequate time is scheduled with your doctor.

Wound Care

Wounds can be broken down into acute or chronic, and open or closed. Wound treatment is performed according to pathology, the extent, and circumstances. We are highly qualified to manage all types of wounds.

Our Services