Urgent health care delivered to your door

14 Dec 2017, 16:10

With a Bachelor of Health Science under her belt Paramedic Lindsey Hope is the perfect recruit to the after-hours urgent medical care team for people who live in Napier, Hastings and Havelock North.

Lindsey is one of a team of paramedics who provide after-hours care directly to people’s homes from 9pm-3am, if its needed, through a new streamlined after-hours service introduced by Hawke’s Bay District Health Board and Health Hawke’s Bay in partnership with St John.

Shown above are some of the after-hours health care team, from left Dr David Rodgers, paramedic Lindsey Hope, registered nurse Wendy Shelley and Brendon Hutchinson St John Hawke’s Bay territory manager.

Napier GP David Rodgers said the new service had been up and running for a couple of weeks. “While it’s only early days we really want the community to understand there are many options after-hours to get the right medical care.

“We’ve made it as simple as we can. All people have to do is call their GP after-hours and their call will be directed through to a registered nurse who will be able to offer them; advice over the phone, the ability to book an appointment with their GP the next day if it’s needed, or the ability to send a paramedic to someone’s home.”

While there is a cost of $65 associated with the paramedic call out, for many people it would prevent someone from getting so sick they needed hospital care, and that’s a huge cost to people in terms of stress, Dr Rodgers said.

For paramedic Lindsey Hope the new service is something she feels very passionately about.

“I can really make a difference, and help keep people out of hospital – it’s urgent community care brought right to people’s homes.

“I used to work in another region for St John and I hated having to drag someone out of their homes and take them to hospital for something I knew I could treat and manage with patients in their own homes. This really is unique and great after-hours care for people.

I’m really looking forward to getting out and about and making a difference,” Lindsey said.