• Cervical screening

Health screening tests check for health conditions or early warning signs of disease.

All women and people with a cervix aged 25 – 69 who have ever had intimate skin-to-skin contact or been sexually active should have regular cervical screening. This includes women who have been immunised against HPV. Together, regular screening and HPV immunisation provide the best protection against cervical cancer.

There are now more options for how you have cervical screening done:

• a simple vaginal swab test for HPV, either done yourself or with help from a healthcare professional
• a cervical sample taken by a healthcare professional (used to be known as a smear test).

Talk with your healthcare provider to decide which option is best for you.

If HPV is found, you may need to have a follow-up test or be referred directly for colposcopy.

If you’ve not yet had HPV testing, you should be screened 3 years after your last test (or 1 year if immune deficient). Once you have had an HPV test, and providing HPV is not found, your next screening will be in 5 years (or 3 years if immune deficient).

For more information: Cervical screening | Time to Screen - National Screening Unit

• Pregnancy vaccinations
• Childhood immunisation programme
• 45 year old vaccinations
• Adult flu vaccine
• Diphtheria / Tetanus / Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine
• Measles / Mumps / Rubella (MMR) vaccine
• Meningococcal vaccine

Immunisation is the safest and most effective way to provide protection for you and your tamariki’s health. For more information view the NZ immunisation schedule.

Sometimes a sample of blood or urine is needed to discover what is wrong with you or to measure something in your blood so that the right medication is given to you. These tests could be anything from blood sugar to a full blood count or a sample of tissue to test for cancer.

While urine can generally be tested in the surgery, blood and other specimens are usually sent away for testing at a laboratory. Most results come back within 48 hours unless a very rare test is needed which has to go to a specialist lab further away when it might take a little longer.

Each primary care medical practice will have its own procedure for repeat prescribing but the following rules are common to most, if not all. Patients who are well-known to the practice who have a stable condition like asthma, hypertension or diabetes could be allowed to get a repeat prescription for up to six months. Repeat prescriptions are never given to patients who are not known to the practice and there is probably a blanket ban on repeats for narcotics and other drugs that could be misused as doctors are expected to monitor these drugs carefully.

• Contraception (birth control) advice
• STD checks (Sexually transmitted disease)
• Male sexual health
• Pregnancy testing

Sexual and reproductive health services including sexual health screening, information and birth control.

Primary care medical practices offer a range of services and are able to deal with most minor accident care. If they are not able to deal with an injury they will refer on to the appropriate service.

Another service offered to you at your primary care medical practice is advice and immunisation before you go to another country. While you are likely to have the immunisations needed to live in New Zealand, there may be other injections you need to protect yourself before going for example to Africa or South America. In some places you will need protection from rabies or malaria. Yellow fever vaccinations are only available at approved centres; please click here to view the centres in New Zealand. Your healthcare provider will be able to tell you what diseases you will need to be protected from in any named country and advise you on other medical matters.