VISITING HOSPITAL

All hospital visitors are encouraged to wear a medical face mask. Expand this message for information about visiting hospital. 

Last updated:
31 October 2024

Some visitor restrictions for all Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury hospitals and health facilities remain in place, but we have relaxed others.

There is still a heightened risk to vulnerable people in hospital and we encourage all people wear a mask when visiting any of our facilities and follow other advice designed to keep patients, staff and visitors safe.

To keep everybody safe:

  • Visitors or support people are advised to not visit our facilities if they are unwell. We advise that you do not visit if you have recently tested positive for COVID-19 and haven’t completed your isolation period.
  • Patients may have more than one visitor, except in some situations such as multi-bed rooms where it can cause overcrowding.
  • Surgical/medical masks are encouraged to be worn at all sites. Masks will be provided if you don’t have one.
  • Please practice hand hygiene with provided alcohol-based hand rub/gel

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as our staff work hard to protect and care for some of the most vulnerable in our community.

Visiting patients with COVID-19

  • People can visit patients who have COVID-19 but they must wear a surgical mask as a minimum – please use surgical masks provided.

All of our Hospitals

Visiting hours for our hospitals have returned to pre COVID-19 hours.

All visitors are encouraged to wear a medical face mask.

Parents/caregivers can be with their child in hospital and visitors are now allowed, except for the Children’s Haematology and Oncology Day stay where visitor restrictions might apply.

Patients and visitors can also read the additional COVID-19 related visiting guidelines .

Ophthalmology referrals and services

Official information request details

  • How are the ophthalmology referrals prioritized?
  • Is there any automatic referral system in place?
  • Are there any standards or operating procedures that are followed while placing referrals from GPs/primary care providers?
  • Can private eye care providers (Specsavers/OPSM etc.) refer a patient to specialist ophthalmologists in CDHB?
  • Can a patient consult with a specialist ophthalmologist at the ED directly without an appointment?
  • If not, can a GP immediately refer a patient to a specialist ophthalmologist at the hospital?
  • Are there any specialist ophthalmologists available at ED 24*7?
  • What criteria are followed in prioritizing the ophthalmology referrals?
  • In 2019-2020, what is the average time taken for a GP referral for different types (serious, moderately serious, and not serious, etc.) priorities to get an appointment with a specialist ophthalmologist / optometrist?
  • How many specialist ophthalmologists and optometrists are practicing in CDHB separately?
  • How many registered ophthalmologists/optometrists are there in whole New Zealand?
  • Were there any steps taken by DHBs across New Zealand to conduct the ophthalmology clinics remotely over tele platforms so that patients get necessary eye care during the different stages of lockdown in New Zealand?

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Page last updated: 30 September 2020

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