Whitby Doctors

04/09/2025

Is your child navigating grief and loss? The team at Skylight Trust offer an 8-week programme specifically for children who find themselves in this situation 🕊

The programme, Matika, is dedicated bereavement support for children aged 6-12 years old. It is designed to help them process their grief in a safe, supportive and age-appropriate environment. The programme includes creative activities, peer support and professional guidance. Children will get help on expressing their feelings, build resilience and connect with other children in a similar position. Each course has a maximum number of 8 participants.

Matika is free and runs in Wellington, Porirua and Kāpiti. You can be referred through your GP or directly by emailing programmes@skylight.org.nz

For more information, visit the Skylight Trust website

Matika is a supportive, therapeutic programme created especially for tamariki aged 6–12 who have experienced the death of a loved one. Designed with a resilience-building and trauma-informed approach, Matika helps tamariki understand, express, and process their grief in a safe, nurturing environme...

26/08/2025

Wāhine! Do you know if you require a smear? If you know you need one, or if you haven't had cervical screening before, there is a free cervical screening clinic being run this Saturday!

Location: Hei Oranga Ake, 4 Lydney Place, Porirua

To book or for more information, you can call or text 027 672 1199 or email emily@oratoa.co.nz

11/08/2025

The meningococcal B vaccine, Bexsero, will be available to all tamariki under 5 who did not receive the immunisation as part of their childhood schedule from 1 September 2025.

Previously this vaccine was only available to tamariki 12 months and under.

Meningococcal is a disease that can progress rapidly and has the risk of becoming life-threatening very quickly.

Children under 5 are one of the highest risk groups to contract meningococcal. Meningococcal can also lead to inflammation around the brain (meningitis) or a blood infection.

If you would like to get your child vaccinated, or to see if they have received the vaccine already, please call us on 04 234 1404 and speak with a nurse 🦸‍♀️

27/07/2025

Strike action happening this Wednesday. Please note if you have a hospital appointment and you have NOT been contacted to reschedule, please attend your scheduled appointment

Nurses, healthcare assistants and some midwives at public hospitals and health services are planning to strike for 24 hours, from 9am on Wednesday 30 July to 9am on Thursday 31 July.

Patient safety will be our priority:

✅ Anyone in hospital will get the care and support they need.
✅ Our hospitals and emergency departments will stay open.
✅ Maternity services for women in labour, inpatient and birth services will continue.
✅ Visiting hours will stay the same.
✅ To maintain patient safety, most clinics will be closed, and appointments will need to be rescheduled.
✅ If you have an appointment on the day of the strike, come to your appointment unless we have contacted you directly.
✅ Any appointments that are deferred will be rescheduled for the next available time.
✅ Anyone needing it will receive emergency care.

We value the hard work and dedication of our staff. To find out more, visit: tewhatuora.govt.nz/industrial-action

23/07/2025

We are 25 today! 🥳

We have been there since some of you were children to being parents yourselves. Helping you and yours through illnesses, bandaging up knees, providing immunisations, celebrating surviving sickness, enjoyment over pregnancies and supporting families when a loved one has passed.

Thank you for choosing us to be your primary healthcare provider, here's to another 25 years!

20/07/2025

Are your smoke alarms working? Are they in the right place?

Looking after a family member? Are their alarms working?

Smoke alarms help save lives and can often be forgotten about. Fire and Emergency NZ now offer *free* home visits to check your alarms. 🚒
The visit will take approximately 30 minutes, during that time the team will provide fire safety advice, check your fire alarms and replace any faulty ones. Can't afford a smoke alarm? Don't worry, just mention it to the team onsite and they can help you out.

To book a free fire safety check for yourself or someone else, visit https://www.fireandemergency.nz/home-fire-safety/home-fire-safety-visits/

And remember, in the event of a fire - Get Down, Get Low, Get Out

Fire and Emergency New Zealand offer free Home Fire Safety Visits to people, family and whānau who require fire safety advice.

15/07/2025

A big shoutout to our patients - our latest stats show that 95.5% of our 24-month-old toddlers enrolled with us are fully vaccinated for their age 🥳

This is an incredible achievement and is one of the highest vaccination rates in the Wellington area, so thank you to all of our patients from right across the Porirua region.

When choosing to vaccinate, you are not only protecting your own children and whānau from deadly illnesses such as measles and meningitis but also helping to protect the vulnerable members of our community.

Those vulnerable members include babies, immunocompromised children and adults, elderly and pregnant people. The more people out there who are vaccinated, the more preventable deaths from viruses and childhood diseases such as the flu (influenza), meningitis, whooping cough and measles there are.

07/07/2025

We're significantly affected by staff sickness today. Our team will do our best to assist, but please be aware that this may affect some service availability.

If it is urgent, please speak with our team who can provide advice on next steps.

You can also book virtual consultations with Practice Plus, to book visit www.practiceplus.nz

Thank you for your patience and understanding 🤧

24/06/2025

On Wednesday 25 June we are moving to a new phone system 📞

When you receive calls from us, the number that will appear on your phone will be 04 888 6418.

You can call us back on that number and chose 'Option 2' for Whitby Doctors. You can also call us on our regular main line, 04 234 1404 - both work!

There should hopefully be no change or disruption from your calling experience with us during this rollout. If you do experience any calling issues this week, please email the issue to hello@whitbydoctors.co.nz and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

22/06/2025

Do you have muffled hearing, blocked ears or discomfort? We can help! 👂

Ear suctioning is a safe, gentle and highly effective way to clear the wax build up. We offer monthly ear suctioning clinics onsite; appointments are 30 minutes long with a nurse. After the suction, the nurse will provide ear care advice on how to prevent future build-up.

If you are experiencing pain or the issue is urgent, please book an appointment with your GP in the first instance.

To book or for more information, please call us on 04 234 1404.

19/06/2025

A reminder we are closed today for Matariki ✨

If you require medical attention while we are closed, you can book an online telehealth appointment with Practice Plus. They are open 8am-8pm and have both phone and video appointments available. Book via their website - www.practiceplus.nz

If you need to be physically examined by a doctor, please visit:

🩺Kenepuru Accident and Medical Clinic, Kenepuru Hospital

This is a walk-in service so there may be a wait to be seen.

If it is an emergency, please dial 111 for ambulance assistance.

We reopen to our normal hours from Monday 23 June. Ngā mihi o te tau hou Māori

16/06/2025

We all know fruit and vegetables are an important tool in keeping ourselves healthy, but the prices in supermarkets can make these a "nice to" have instead of the "must have" kitchen staple.

Have you heard of Hauora Kai Fruit and Vege Co-Op? Not only is it a more cost-effective way to get your fruit and vegetables, you'll also be supporting local growers and getting fresher items. Not to mention the variety as the items can change week-to-week 🍎🍓🥦🥑

Simply pay and order online, then collect your items from a convenient collection point nearest to you. With collection points all across Wellington, Porirua, Hutt Valley, Wairarapa and Kāpiti you won't have to travel far to find your closest collection point.

For all the information about how this programme works, and to sign up, please visit their website https://www.hauorakai.nz/