Medical Care and Health

1. If you are unwell, please ask your homestay to arrange a visit to their family doctor in the first instance.
2. If that is not possible, you can also use Dunedin Urgent Doctors, ph 03 479 2900.
3. If you are sick and unable to attend school, your host parent needs to call the school office and leave a message to record your absence. If you don't inform the school, they will receive a text wondering where you are.

Emergency Care:

In the case of an accident or hospitalization, please notify the International Director or Homestay Coordinator immediately. The school has then a very clear process that it must follow for Critical Incidents. The school must manage all health care decisions and contact your birth parents. This is not host parents' responsibility, which makes contacting the school the highest priority.

Insurance Claims from Medical appointments:

1. Students pay at the time of the appointment and must keep all receipts and medical notes, so you can claim insurance refunds on medical costs. 
2. Any Dr prescriptions can also be claimed for, but not over the counter purchases.
3. Bring ALL the paperwork back to school and the Homestay Coordinator will manage the claim with the student's insurance company.

Hospitals vs GP visits, cultural differences:

For many of our students, going to a hospital for primary care is normal, rather than the NZ norm of going to a general practitioner for minor ailments. Please remember that health care outside of a hospital in NZ is of the same quality - we don't want students deciding to turn up at A&E with a seasonal cold and then getting huge bills that their insurance will not cover. An example: An unnecessary trip to A&E costs $NZD 1200 per day, an ambulance ride costs $NZD 800. Our students may not all understand this system, but we want to keep hospitals for emergencies.

Dental and Eye Care:

Emergency dental care is covered at a basic level by insurance, but we recommend all students have their dental check ups when they are in their home country due to costs. Same for eye care and optometry.

Covid 19:

The same testing system applies for International Students in NZ and is free. Vaccination for students over the age of 12 also follows the NZ Ministry of Health process. 

For students travelling to their home countries at any time, the pre-departure PCR testing required will be managed by the school if possible.