News | Village Health

April-May 2026 Newsletter

Your Health, Our Priority

Kia Ora!

As we move further into the year, it’s a great time to check in on your health and wellbeing — and we’re here to make that as easy and accessible as possible. At Village Health, we continue to grow and evolve to meet the needs of our community, with new services, new team members, and exciting progress toward our Rolleston site. Whether it’s same-day care when you need it, longer-term planning through Wellness Reviews, or simply knowing you can see your own GP, our focus remains the same: providing thoughtful, high-quality care for you and your whānau.

Village Health Rolleston - 35 Masefield Drive, Opening soon

Yes! We will be opening in Rolleston very soon. Just a few “little” set backs – if you’ve ever built you will understand! If you’re looking for a GP practice, enrol with us at Lincoln Road and you can be seen at either site. We have several amazing new doctors starting that we know you’ll love! If you want to know where we are click here.

If you would like to enrol, click here.

Same-Day Appointments – We’re Here When You Need Us

Your health is our priority, and we always keep appointments available for urgent issues.
Our goal is simple: to never turn anyone away.

Regular appointments with your own doctor are usually available within a few days, and we do everything we can to make sure you see the same person each time — because continuity of care saves lives. Every GP at Village Health keeps “on-the-day” appointments that aren’t shown online, so if your need is more urgent than what’s visible on the booking system, just give us a call.

When you ring, one of our friendly nurses will have a quick chat to understand what’s going on. This is called triage — it helps us decide how quickly you need to be seen and directs you to the right type of appointment:

Acute Clinic – Daily doctor-and-nurse clinic for urgent health concerns.
Infectious Clinic – For coughs, colds, and other contagious illnesses.
Rapid Clinic – For quick, urgent issues that simply can’t wait.

We’re here to provide the right care, at the right time, in the safest way possible.

Our aim is to NEVER TURN ANYONE AWAY

YES! We’re Taking New Enrolments!

We’re welcoming new patients and have plenty of capacity to care for you and your whānau.
Wait times to see your regular GP for non-urgent issues are typically up to a week, and we also keep on-the-day appointments for urgent or infectious issues. We have several GPs dedicated to overflow and our “Rapid Clinic” with a doctor is available for quick things that just can’t wait.

If you know someone in Christchurch, Rolleston, or the Selwyn District looking for a new GP, please share this newsletter!

If you would like to enrol, click here. Once you’ve completed the form, we take care of the rest — no need to contact your previous practice.

Stay Protected This Winter

While we’ve been fortunate to see fewer severe respiratory illnesses than in previous years, now is not the time to be complacent. Flu, COVID-19, RSV, and other respiratory viruses are always circulating. The Northern Hemisphere had a tough flu season, and we expect similar here—so it’s still worthwhile to get vaccinated. If you’re due for a COVID-19 booster, you can have it at the same time as your flu vaccine (one in each arm). Your immune system deals with thousands if not millions of new pathogens every day so two vaccines is easily managed. Vaccines are free to those most at risk, including people aged 65+, pregnant people, and those with specific long-term health conditions. It is highly recommended for everyone over 6 months old, especially for those at risk of severe illness. Check here to check your eligibility. Protect yourself and those around you—book your vaccines today.

Our PIP (Potentially Infectious Persons) Clinic: Safe, Separate, and Specialist Care

At Village Health, we take infection control seriously to protect both our patients and staff. Our PIP Clinic is a dedicated space for patients who may have infectious symptoms, such as cough, fever, or a sore throat. This specially designed clinic includes negative pressure ventilation, reducing the risk of airborne transmission, and our doctors wear full PPE during your consultation. The clinic opens directly to the carpark—so there’s no need to walk through the main building—and you’ll be called straight into our warm, purpose-built space when it’s your turn. Patients are usually triaged on the day into the PIP Clinic by our nurses or reception team for an afternoon appointment. If you’re assessed as more unwell, you’ll be seen earlier in the day in our acute infectious space behind the ambulance bay. We're here to provide safe and thorough care, whatever your symptoms.

12 Month Prescribing

From 1 February, where it is clinically safe to do so, we’ll be able to offer 12-month prescriptions. This helps reduce unnecessary appointments and script fees while still ensuring your care remains safe and well monitored. Please book an appointment with your GP to see whether this is appropriate for you and to get this set up. Even when a prescription is written for 12 months, pharmacies will continue to dispense medications in 3-monthly lots. Please note that the usual monthly prescribing rules still apply to controlled drugs — these prescriptions must be issued monthly, with monthly collection from the pharmacy.

Carpark view of our “Ruma Karaka” or “Orange Room” at Lincoln Road where we run our PIP Clinic including an inside view of the clinic space. Our Masefield Drive PIP clinic space is similar.

Wellness Reviews

As we move to offering longer prescriptions where it’s clinically safe to do so, there will naturally be fewer brief “check-ins” of your medical record to ensure blood tests, screening and recalls are up to date. That’s why we’re introducing Wellness Reviews. These dedicated appointments are with one of our nurses or our dietitian and allow us to take a thorough look at your overall health, make sure nothing is missed, and focus on prevention rather than reacting to problems. Most people will need a Wellness Review every 1–3 years depending on their stage of life and medical needs. You can book at any time, but we encourage booking around your birthday to help spread appointments across the year — we’ll also be recalling patients to make this easy.

Avon River in the Autumn

12 Month Prescribing

From 1 February 2026, where it is clinically safe to do so, we can offer 12-month prescriptions. This helps reduce unnecessary appointments and script fees while still ensuring your care remains safe and well monitored. Please book an appointment with your GP to see whether this is appropriate for you and to get this set up. Even when a prescription is written for 12 months, pharmacies will continue to dispense medications 3-monthly. Please note that the usual monthly prescribing rules still apply to controlled drugs — these prescriptions must be issued monthly, with monthly collection from the pharmacy.

Had a Great Experience? The Coffee’s on Us!

Our team works hard to keep you healthy — from the reception desk to behind-the-scenes care coordination. If you’ve had a great experience with Village Health, please consider writing a Google review to help others find us.

As a small thank-you, the coffee’s on us next time you’re in!

From All of Us at Village Health

As always, thank you for trusting Village Health with your care. Our team is committed to providing safe, thoughtful, and accessible healthcare that supports you through every stage of life. If you have questions about anything in this newsletter or would like to book an appointment, please get in touch — we’re always happy to help. We look forward to caring for you and your whānau throughout 2026 and beyond.