I’d like to introduce Bianca, who is working for me as a receptionist. She is also helping out with the myriad of other tasks that are involved in running the practice. I really enjoy having her here, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy meeting her.
In the weekends the phones are now switched over to Homecare Medical Limited, which employs Registered Nurses to answer phones for medical practices. This has made a great difference to my rural colleagues.
The District Health Board are paying for this service with the expectation that it will decrease the load on the 24 Hour Surgery and the Emergency Department.
A special thanks to Jill and the team at Answers, who have been so helpful and efficient in answering my phone and taking messages over the past few years. Unfortunately, I will now be using them less than previously.
However you can be assured that the phone will always be answered in person, whether it be by Bianca the receptionist, Jill and the team at Answers, or the HML after hours service.
There are also a number of other services becoming available, to help with the coordination of health care in Canterbury, under the umbrella of The Canterbury Initiative.
There is a Health Pathway system which we have online, which coordinates the information needed for referrals, and gives protocols for investigating patients in the community, rather than in secondary care, at the hospitals.
Soon there will be sharing of laboratory results between the hospitals and the general practitioners, which should lead to more efficiency. This is only with the consent of the individual patient, though.
As for my practice, it is continuing to grow, but as people get better there is always room for new patients.
I’ll be away from the practice during this time. During that time Bianca and Answers will be making appointments and taking messages for me, and I can contact you back when I return.
If you will be due for medical certificates or repeats of medication during that time, please would you contact me soon, so that I can see you before I leave.
The doctors at Edgeware Promed are happy to see people who need to be seen before I get back. Their hours are Monday-Friday 8-6 and Saturday 9-1. They are a drop in clinic so they don't take appointments, but their phone number is 3791112.
They are quite close to my practice. To get there go north along Colombo Street to where it ends at Edgeware Road. Edgeware Promed is just opposite, and there is parking behind.
I am also a member of the 24 Hour Surgery, so my patients can go there at any time of the day or night.
As I’ve said before, I have a background both as a specialist and a general practitioner, and I keep up with Continuing Professional Development for the College of Physicians, and Maintenance of Professional Standards for the College of GPs. Well, I read journals and go to education meetings anyway, but I log them for both Colleges.
The reason I am mentioning this is to say that I have a solid background in medicine, and although I also offer alternative methods of treatment, the medical part of my practice is the foundation of the practice.
So even if you choose alternative ways of treatment I still make sure that the medical aspects have been covered, and give you medical advice.
Homeopathy is one of my fields of endeavour. I enjoy using it, and am pleased with the results. When I go through the Consent Form with new patients, I say that one of the benefits of using homeopathy is that it can often help with conditions that "fall between the cracks" of conventional medicine. Conversely one of the risks of using homeopathy would be if people relied on that instead of having conventional medicine when they need it.
There is a lot about homeopathy on my website www.isbellmedicalpractice.com, and a number of useful links with information about the evidence basis for homeopathy.
There is also a lot of information that isn’t on the website, so talk to me if you would like to know more.
I really enjoy using Flower Essences in my practice. I see them as being able to help with emotional issues and stress, as well as helping with the body/mind connection.
I have noticed that people who use Flower Essences as well as Homeopathy seem to get better faster, as if they are more able to respond to the stimulus of the Homeopathic remedy.
I have been joking for over 20 years that they are very bad for business!
The Flower Essences that I use routinely are from Flower Essence Services, Star Essences, Himalayan Flower Enhancers, Mount Shasta Support Essences, and Glastonbury Holy Flower Essences.
Homeobotanicals are combinations of herbs, that are then potentised. They have some of the properties of herbs, and some of the properties of homeopathic remedies.
They can be used in combination, but each one can be easily remembered, such as A for asthma, B for blood, C for coughs and colds, right down to J for "Jerms" (sore throats) and Z for sleeping.
I have made up Cold and Flu Kits using Homeobotanicals.
The naming of the Homeobotanicals has just changed, however, so talk to me if you are wanting a repeat bottle.
This is a company I use to offer my non medical projects, under the trademark of The Light House®. At this stage these activities mostly relate to Essences of The Light House®, Meditation courses by DaBen and Orin, healing and writing.
I had the inspiration to photograph flowers and make Flower Essences a long time ago, and these became the Christchurch Flower Essences. I wrote and published a handbook through Light House Publishing, gave some talks, sold a few kits, then got on with my day job.
There are 2 sets of stock bottles for practitioners, the Spring Flowers and the Summer Flowers, and a set of blended essences, which people can get individually, or as a set. One of these is called Relief Remedy, which can be used in much the same way as the Bach Flower Rescue Remedy.
A few years ago I found out about the Star Essences, and when I read Star’s book her experiences were very similar to the ones I had when making the Christchurch Flower Essences. I made up a Dose Record Sheet, and formatted some of her material for my own reference, and this ran naturally into a review of the Christchurch Flower Essences. Now that we have computers it is much easier to deal with information, and with Fitz the graphic designer and web master we have designed new labels, packaging, and a website.
The Christchurch Flower Essences are now being used all over the world, which I am pleased about. When I first made them I had the American market in mind, as I thought many places could do with the park and garden "vibes" of Christchurch.
I still think that they will come into their own and be very helpful with the energy changes in the next few years.
I have a slide show presentation of these in the near the front door, and a display opposite the stairs, so please come and have a look.
I am a teacher of the Awakening Your Light Body course by Orin and DaBen, channeled by Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer.
In practice, and because of time constraints, I am no longer teaching this in class format, but am sponsoring people in learning the course, by doing some meditations with them and lending them my CD sets.
Orin has a number of courses on Divine Will and Divine Manifesting. There is one on Living Your Life Purpose. However I think the Divine Self series on Transcending you Ego is perhaps the most challenging and useful to date.
Courses in this series include Birthing a New You, Transforming Your Emotions, Evolving Your Desire Body, Illuminating Your Mind, Deeping Divine Self Consciousness, and Transcending Your Ego.
I have a core group doing these with me, and plan to offer them in a class setting later in the year.
The reason I am going away at the end of the month is to become a practitioner of Reconnective Healing® and The Reconnection®. I have benefited from these processes myself, and would like to be able to offer these to other people as well.
The technique involves offering new energy changes to the client. It doesn’t involve counselling, and is not intended to be a long term therapy. It has been embraced by many doctors and health professionals in other countries.
I am turning the upstairs gym into a healing room, and at this stage hope to offer these from mid June. But I’ll give you more information after I have been to the practitioners courses.
(But don’t be put off by all this if your reason for coming to see me is purely medical, as that is just fine with me.)
I went to part of the Burnside High School Jubilee at Easter, and it was good to catch up with old school friends. We were foundation pupils, when the school had only 230 pupils, and so we were always the oldest pupils in the school. We had lots of interesting opportunities, and some wonderful and dedicated teachers.
I was the first librarian at the school - well my whole place is like a library now. There were great advantages in being a librarian: we didn’t have to sit down outside at lunchtime, and we managed to get up to all sorts of hijinks. We also learnt how to bind and repair books and periodicals, which was interesting. We thought that we were the first to throw each other in the swimming pool at the end of the year, but I’m sure it was being done at other places well before then.
Speaking of swimming pools, our sixth form class decided to ham it up at the interclass relay, where 5 people had to swim the width of the pool. I was first, and jumped in, then sank to the bottom for as long as I could manage, and then dog paddled across very uncertainly. Then just before the other side I sank to the bottom again. I was rather relieved when the other members of the team did similar things, and people realized it was a practical joke. As we went out I heard people saying "It would have taken a lot of guts being the first one". But it was a practical joke of the best sort, where noone gets hurt, and other peoples’ judgment of you is turned around.. (Some time I might write a little bit about my experiences of trying to be a clown.)
One of the funniest episodes at school was when one of the prefects was demoted for calling a teacher by her Christian name. One lunchtime, at the time when everyone had to be sitting down, there was a procession from the boy prefects room, past the staffroom to the senior boys locker room. First was Jim, the demoted one, twirling a coat hanger like a sergeant major, Next was the Head Boy, carrying his satchel. Then there were all the other boy prefects, in single file, carrying Jim’s books and belongings. I thought it was a great way for the other prefects to show solidarity.
John Key spoke at the opening ceremony of the Jubilee, and was very funny. (Even one of the security guards laughed!) He said that his only detention was from Trevor Moffitt ("Moff"), the art teacher. "Moff" left teaching to be a full time artist, and now one of his paintings hangs in Vogel House.
In the history of the school there was a little anecdote about "Moff". Some boys used to throw plastic bags containing water out of the window. This escalated until one day they threw down a rubbish bit of water. They retreated to the other side of the classroom so they couldn’t be seen. When they did look out the window there was "Moff" lying spread eagled on the ground, surrounded by water. Fearing the worst, they rushed down to check on him. Eventually he opened one eye and said "I knew if I lay here long enough the culprits would show up".
Interestingly, my new receptionist Bianca is Moff’s granddaughter.