Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Silver Fern Medical Centre?
What do I need to do for my first appointment?
How can I contact you?
What if I need to cancel an appointment?
How much do you charge?
Why is my appointment more expensive than my usual GP?
How can I make you my regular doctor? (enrolment)
What is enrolment?
What are ‘enrolled’ and ‘casual’ patients?
What happens if I move away from the area?
Do you provide ACC services if I’ve had an accident?
What services are available?
Do you provide maternity services?
What are the opening hours?
What happens if I need to see a doctor outside of these hours?
What if I have an emergency?
What about after the surgery is closed?
How do I get a specialist referral?
Repeat prescription policy
Why is there a charge for repeat prescriptions?
Am I eligible to enrol for government subsidised GP consultations?

Where is Silver Fern Medical Centre?
We can be found just off State Highway 16 in the main shopping centre in Waimauku, West Auckland. For a map or directions click here.

What do I need to do for my first appointment?
If this is the first time you will be visiting us, we ask that you book a 30 minute appointment. This is in order that we can collect all the necessary information, as well as get an idea about your medical background. Please bring with you any relevant medical documents that you may have (for example, recent hospital discharge summary) and all medications that you have.

How can I contact you?
By phone 09 4115222
By fax 09 4115276
By email reception@silverfernmedical.co.nz
Come in to the surgery at the address above

What if I need to cancel an appointment?
If you need to cancel, we understand that life can be hectic sometimes. We ask that you cancel as soon as you become aware that you are unable to make your appointment, in order to allow the opportunity for others to take your appointment slot.

How much do you charge?
Our fees schedule can be viewed here. Whilst we endeavour to update this regularly there may be other charges which apply.

Why is my appointment more expensive than my usual GP?
If you are enrolled with another GP, the funding for you has already gone to that surgery. If you wish to make your appointment cheaper and get subsidised appointments, you can enroll with us, see below.


How can I make you my regular doctor? (enrolment)
If you wish for us to become your regular doctor (enrolment), please complete an enrolment form, fax or email back to us, or come in to the surgery. You DO NOT need to make an appointment in order to enroll with us and may have your name on the books even if you haven’t needed to come yet. Your old medical notes will then be transferred to us from your previous doctor. Sometimes this can take up to 2 months depending on where you have come from.

What is enrolment?
Enrolment is where you complete forms to make us your regular doctor. Your old medical notes will be transferred to us from your previous doctor, along with the local health authority (PHO) funding, allowing you to gain access to the subsidized consultation fees. Not everyone is eligible for enrolment. For eligibility criteria please see here. Non-New Zealand residents may or may not be eligible for publically funded health care depending on work visa status.

What are ‘enrolled’ and ‘casual’ patients?
Enrolled patients are patients who usually attend Silver Fern Medical Centre and have funding from the local health authority (PHO). If you are enrolled you can access the full range of services provided by the PHO, and also get subsidized consultations instead of paying full fees. For eligibility criteria please see here. Non-New Zealand residents may or may not be eligible for publically funded health care depending on work visa status. Casual patients are patients who come to the medical centre from time to time and have a regular doctor elsewhere, or do not have any regular doctor. Casual patients may also be our regular patients who are not eligible for enrolment.

What happens if I move away from the area?
You can choose to remain enrolled with us and keep coming as needed, or find a new doctor closer to home and enroll with them. Once you enroll elsewhere, your funding moves with you so appointments with us will no longer be funded, and if you come back you will have to pay full fees (casual patient rates).

Do you provide ACC services if I’ve had an accident?
Yes, we provide a comprehensive range of ACC related services, and are able to order xrays, plaster broken limbs, stitch up cuts, deal with back pain, and a number of other accident-related services.

What services are available?
See our service page.

Do you provide maternity services?
We provide care for women in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and are both experienced in providing antentatal care and delivering babies. As with most GPs these days we are not registered Lead Maternity Carers (LMCs) and do not deliver babies any more. To find an LMC in West Auckland click here. Also visit MAMA Ltd. or call 0800 MUM 2 BE (0800 686 223).

What are the opening hours?
Monday to Friday - 8am-6pm
Saturday - 9am-12pm
Sunday - closed

What happens if I need to see a doctor outside of these hours?
There are several options locally for provision of care out of normal opening hours. This partly depends on how urgent the problem is.
If you have an emergency please DO NOT contact the surgery but dial 111.
If your problem is fairly urgent (e.g. needs to be dealt with that day and cannot wait until the opening of the surgery the next day) then there are several choices. If you are an enrolled patient you may call the surgery number and be transferred through to one of the doctors for advice. The advice may be that you need to go to hospital, that the doctor will see you at the surgery, that the doctor will make a house call, or that the doctor is not available and advises you to seek medical care at White Cross or Westgate Medical centre.
If you are not enrolled then unfortunately this service is not available to you as the doctor will not have access to your medical records and know your medical background. This service is intended for our own regular patients only.
Other options include visiting Westgate (open until 8pm weekdays, 6pm weekends), White Cross in Henderson (open 24 hours), Waitakere Hospital (emergency department open until 8pm), or North Shore Hospital (open 24 hours).

What if I have an emergency?
If you have a medical emergency please DO NOT contact us by email. For emergencies please dial 111 for an ambulance.

What about after the surgery is closed?
We provide an out of hours advice service, but this is only for our regular enrolled patients. If you have not been to Silver Fern Medical Centre before you may be charged a standard call-out fee for this phone advice, but otherwise the advice is free. The doctor may arrange a house call or ask you to attend the local hospital, depending on the problem. Please ring the usual Medical Centre number and you can press for the option to be put through to the doctor.

How do I get a specialist referral?
If you need a specialist referral, you will need to be seen by one of the doctors for an assessment. If they feel that a specialist is required then there are several options for referral:
Public system referral – if your complaint meets the criteria for a referral, and you are eligible to see a specialist on the public system (you must be a New Zealand citizen or resident) then the doctor writes a letter and sends it to the hospital. You should hear about your appointment directly from the hospital within a few weeks. Hospital referrals can take up to 6 months depending on the urgency of the problem.
Private referral – if you have private insurance or are able to pay then you may wish to see a consultant privately. Depending on the reason this could cost in the region of $150-200 for the initial appointment, with tests, procedures and surgery being extra. Private referrals are often quicker, but can still be up to a couple of months depending on the problem and how fully booked the specialist is.
ACC referral – if you have had an accident which meets ACC’s criteria and have had an ACC claim accepted, ACC will fund any specialist care you require, up to 80% of the total cost. You are required to pay for the other 20%. ACC referrals essentially happen on the private system. If ACC declines your claim you may have to pay for specialist appointments.

Repeat prescription policy
We aim to provide optimal medical care to all our patients. It is our policy to review patients on regular medications every 3-6 months depending on the prescription and stability of condition. If you have an unstable medical condition you may be asked to attend more frequently than this. Please allow 48 hours for us to process a repeat prescription, and be aware that a charge applies for this service why?
Sometimes repeat prescription requests are declined if the patient has not been seen by the doctor for a long time, if a controlled drug such as morphine is required, or if we have never prescribed that particular drug for a patient before. There are also certain drugs which a doctor will not be happy to issue a repeat for and will request to see you, including antibiotics and sedatives/sleeping pills. Declining a prescription is at the doctors discretion. We would ask for your patience if this occurs.

Why is there a charge for repeat prescriptions?
Processing a repeat prescription is not just a case of signing a prescription. Doctors must review your notes and ensure that the prescription is still appropriate. They must also make sure that you have relevant blood tests if needed, do not have any interacting drugs, and that there are no other reasons why you should not take the medication. This is important for your safety and also for medicolegal reasons. All of these things take time and cannot be done by any other member of your healthcare team.

Am I eligible to enrol for government subsidised GP consultations?
When you enrol with us then you are entitled to government subsidised consultations. The following people are eligible for this:
· New Zealand Citizens
· New Zealand Residents
· Those holding a work visa for 2 years or more
· If you have had an accident whilst in New Zealand, whether you are a citizen, resident or not (the ACC subsidy only applies to accident-related medical care).
· If you are the pregnant partner of an eligible person, you may be eligible for maternity service subsidy
The following people are not eligible for government subsidised consultations and therefore cannot enrol:
· Foreign nationals, unless residents or on a 2 year work visa
· People who would like to keep a regular doctor somewhere else – you can only be enrolled at ONE GP practice at any one time

For more information about health subsidy, please see the Ministry of Health website:
To check whether you are eligible, please see here.