Staff from Masterton Medical Limited and Wairarapa DHB were praised for 'pulling out the stops' to enable business to open on the new site this week. A fire at Masterton Medical's building in March meant the service had to vacate their previous building.
A remarkable amount has been achieved in the last few weeks to make the temporary site, vacated six years ago when the new Wairarapa Hospital opened, look purpose-built for its new lease of life as a medical centre. The remaining tenant, Wairarapa’s Needs Assessment and Coordination Agency, FOCUS, has doubled up in their rooms to give more space to MML.
'We've brought with us the new model of care that the fire forced on us,' says GP Matt Mills. 'We hot-desk in the consulting rooms, and do all our other paperwork in a shared write-up area, where we interact with other disciplines doing the same thing.' Both MML staff and FOCUS are looking forward to the synergies of working adjacent to each other.
A special korowai (cloak) was undamaged in the fire and brought from Masterton Medical. It now hangs just inside the front door, symbolising the shelter and protection offered by staff in the building.
