VISITING HOSPITAL

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

Last updated:
13 March 2023

Some visitor restrictions for all 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 so we recommend 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 must not visit our facilities if they are unwell. 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 recommended to be worn at all sites. Masks will be provided if you don’t have one.
  • For Specialist Mental Health Services everyone is strongly encouraged to wear a face mask in all inpatient areas and areas where consumers are receiving care (i.e. community appointments, home-visits, transporting people). Discretion may be applied in cases where masks impair your ability to communicate effectively.
  • Visitors must not eat or drink in multibed rooms because of the increased risk when multiple people remove their face mask in the same space.
  • Hand sanitiser is available and must be used.

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 an N95 mask – this will be provided if you don’t have one.
  • Other methods of communication will be facilitated e.g. phone, Facetime, Zoom, WhatsApp etc where visits aren’t possible.

All of our Hospitals

Visiting hours for our hospitals have returned to pre COVID-19 hours with the exception of Christchurch Women’s Hospital.

All visitors are recommended to wear a medical face mask.

Parents/caregivers are able to be with their child in hospital and visitors are now allowed, except for the Children’s Haematology and Oncology Day stay where just one parent/caregiver is able to attend their appointment with their child. Exceptions by special arrangement only.

Patients and visitors should also read the additional more detailed visiting guidelines for each specific hospital.

More COVID-19 information

Quality and patient safety

Te Whatu Ora has a strong commitment to the provision of high quality health care services. We strive to ensure our services are safe, integrated, focused on evidence based best practice and are responsive to consumer needs.

We believe that by continuously improving the dimensions of quality throughout the organisation we will enhance the health care services we provide, increase the job satisfaction of our staff and improve organisational effectiveness.

Our vision is that our health system provides exceptional quality by providing the right care and support, by the right person, at the right place, at the right time and in the right way.  With this in mind we have set a patient safety vision of 'zero harm'. 

The Corporate Quality and Patient Safety Team works closely with the divisional quality teams and the executive management team to coordinate and promote an effective, integrated and comprehensive approach to quality and patient safety across the organisation.

The Quality Accounts are a snapshot of how our health system is meeting the health needs of the people in our community.

Please go to our document library to view our latest Quality Accounts and previous Quality Accounts.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Susan Wood, Director Quality and Patient Safety
Email: susan.wood@cdhb.health.nz

Safe Mobility September

 

This new campaign is still about preventing harm from falls, but takes a more positive look at the benefits of keeping active and moving around safely but often, whether in hospital or at home.

Staying safely active while in hospital gets you well enough to go home sooner, decreases the risk of depression and ensures you are able to get back to the things that are important to you faster when you do get home.

During Safe Mobility September, our staff encourage patients to move safely as often as they can. At Burwood Hospital there is an active rehabiliation programme that includes activities designed to be enjoyable for patients while improving their confidence, strength and balance, and reducing their risk of a fall.

Staying active at home will ensure you stay well and independent at home as long as possible and can avoid a trip to hospital due to being injured in a fall.

The Canterbury Health System is working to reduce the number of falls and the harm they cause in our hospitals and in our communities.

  • We are committed to achieving zero harm from falls and are focusing on the three key areas
  • falls prevention in the wider community,
  • falls prevention in rest homes and
  • falls prevention for older people receiving care in Te Whatu Ora hospitals

These two short videos give helpful and advice and share the wisdom of people who are at risk of falling, but have learned to manage and reduce that risk.

Live Stronger for Longer was the theme of our 'April Falls' campaign.

The Live Stronger for Longer website offers practical information and advice on how to live an active, independent life and encourages people over 65 to join community group strength and balance classes.

Exercise classes can help prevent falls and give older people the chance to have some fun and meet new people, or see if in-home support is appropriate.

The Live Stronger for Longer movement has been developed by government agencies and health providers for people over 65. It aims to prevent falls and fractures, enabling people to stay well and independent in their own home.​

We know that patient experience is a good indicator of the quality of our health services. Better experience, stronger partnerships with consumers, patient and family-centred care have been linked to improved health, clinical, financial, service and care outcomes. Patient feedback is used by our  teams to monitor and improve the care we provide.

Understanding how people experience healthcare gives us valuable insight and an opportunity to celebrate our success, do more of what we are doing well and to find ways of how we can do better.

Every fortnight we invite patients who have spent at least one night in hospital or have attended an outpatient appointment to participate in our patient experience survey. An invitation to participate in the survey is delivered via email or a link in a text message.  Taking part is voluntary.

If you receive an electronic invite – please complete it! We really value your time to provide us with feedback. Be assured your responses are completely anonymous.

In addition, you can also tell us about your experience using our feedback form. The feedback form can be used to share both positive feedback, or to lay a complaint.

Patient Experience Surveys can be found in our publications library.

Page last updated: 29 September 2023

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