Tuesday, October 16, 2012 • Mark Peters
A NEW medical centre that focuses on continuity of care will fill a gap in the health sector in Kaiti.
Gisborne doctor David Belfield decided to set up De Lautour Medical Centre at the former Kaiti Medical Centre site in De Lautour Road.
“Continuity of care is good for patients and it’s good for doctors.
“We like the idea of the family doctor as a first point of contact for health needs.
“We want to get back to how it used to be in terms of building a relationship over time between patient and doctor.
Having practised as a GP in Kaiti for 25 years, Dr Belfield is at home with the Kaiti community.
Ka Pai Kaiti chairman Josh Wharehinga believes another medical centre in Kaiti is a good thing.
“Personally, I think it’s good to have the delivery of health services in smaller pockets of the Kaiti area.”
Three Rivers Medical manager Adrian Tucker also believes any facility that helps Gisborne become a healthier place is good.
“We’re happy to see anyone open up. It’s good for the community, it’s good for business and it’s good for Gisborne.”
All of De Lautour Medical Centre’s staff members are from this region and most live in the area. A psychotherapist will join the practice and nurses have expertise in specialist areas such as podiatry, diabetes and immunisation.
Dr Belfield says the practice is looking to get further ancillary services to make it more convenient for people.
His own area of interest is treating the elderly.
“Possibly because I’ve grown up with them.”
Painters, carpenters and plumbers have been renovating the centre for the past two months.
Some rooms in the new clinic have been recarpeted, others have been cleaned, two treatment rooms have been repainted and new equipment has been installed.
Because equipment changes so quickly, being able to buy new apparatus gives staff the opportunity to get the latest and the best they can, says Dr Belfield.
“It has been exciting to buy new gear.”
He is pleased with electrically- operated beds because they can be lowered, which allows elderly to sit down in a dignified fashion.
Relocation has gone smoothly, although setting up a new practice is more complicated than before because quality control is more rigorous than it used to be.
From working as a house surgeon at Gisborne Hospital in the 1970s, Dr Belfield moved into general practice at Te Araroa for several years and later worked overseas. In 1987 he set up a practice in Kaiti Mall which became Puhi Kaiti 14 years ago.
“It’s fortunate for us that the medical centre became available at a time when we thought we would like to set up a new practice,” he says.
“There is a lot of interest in the community for this service to reopen. We’re not in competition with other practices. We’ve all known each other for a long time.”