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

CEO Update – Monday 19 November 2018

Monday 19 November 2018Waitaha Canterbury Pānui2 minutes to read

In this week's CEO Update…

Chief Executive David Meates celebrates the upcoming launch of the book Rising from the Rubble by Drs Mike Ardagh and Jo Deely, which details the Canterbury Health System’s response to the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, from the immediate emergency response to sustaining health services over the following years, in challenging circumstances. With the Healthy Commute programme now in full swing, David also encourages staff to give biking, bussing, carpooling or walking to work a go.

This issue also highlights a presentation given by Doug Eby and Donna Galbreath, representing Alaska’s Southcentral Foundation, where they discuss the Nuka System of Care – a healthcare model that has turned the population with the worst health statistics in North America into one of the best, and how the principles may be applied in other countries to improve health outcomes for indigenous and minority communities. We look at how a simulated X-ray control panel for radiology students to practice their X-ray technique came to be through collaboration, and we celebrate the success of a PhD student who has been selected for the national hockey team, the Black Sticks.

You can read the Canterbury DHB CEO Update in two different formats:

View on issuu.com Download PDF (5.9MB)

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Page last updated: 3 December 2018

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