Counties Manukau Health Internal Medicine

Public Service, Internal Medicine

Description

Internal Medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment of diseases affecting the internal organs of the body.

The Medical team is made up of specialists in medicine along with registrars, who are fully qualified doctors undertaking further training in medicine. Other members of the team are Hospital Medical Officers, senior doctors who work across all teams especially when working in the Emergency Care Department, and House Officers who are recently qualified doctors working in the team under supervision of the senior members.

Internal Medicine will often overlap with other medical services at Middlemore Hospital such as:

Consultants

Associate Professor Jeff Garrett

Respiratory Physician
Professor Harry Rea

Respiratory Physician
Dr Vigna Vignakumar

Internal Medicine Specialist

Referral Expectations

If you are acutely unwell, your GP may refer you to the Acute Assessment and Admitting Service in the Emergency Department at the front of Middlemore Hospital. The Medical team working in the Emergency Care Department will look after you, admitting you if necessary and requesting further specialist advice from the subspeciality teams if needed.

If the referral is less urgent and the referring doctor is requesting help in the management of your condition, the doctor will write a letter requesting an appointment with the medical team as an outpatient. Waiting times for the appointment depend on the urgency of the condition as outlined in the referral letter from your doctor, but vary between 2 weeks and 3-4 months.

Not all referrals are seen in a face-to-face consultation, instead your doctor may receive advice on how to manage your condition or investigate it further.

When seen in the outpatient clinic you will be seen by a member of the medical specialist team who will ask questions about your illness, examine you and possibly order further investigations. This may involve having x-rays, a CT scan, endoscopy, catheter study or blood tests and then returning to clinic when all the results have been received. Once a diagnosis is made, management of your condition will be outlined to you and you will either be requested to return to the clinic or to see your GP for follow-up.

Outpatient clinics are held at:

Middlemore Hospital (haematology and renal clinics)
Manukau SuperClinic™
Botany Downs SuperClinic™.

Charges

There are no charges for services to public patients if you are lawfully in New Zealand and meet one of the Eligibility Directions specified criteria set by the Ministry of Health. If you do not meet the criteria, you will be required to pay for the full costs of any medical treatment you receive during your stay.

To check whether you meet the specified eligibility criteria, visit the Ministry of Health website.

For any applicable charges, please phone the Accounts Receivable Office on (09) 276 0060.