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

Birth Afterthoughts Clinic

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The Birth Afterthoughts Clinic is a listening and debriefing service available for anyone who has given birth to their baby in a Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury facility. This includes Christchurch Women’s Hospital and Community Maternity Services at Oromairaki (in Rolleston), Rangiora, Kaikoura and Ashburton.

If you have some questions about your birth experience that you would like answered, or there is an aspect of your care that you would like to discuss, the Birth Afterthoughts Clinic provides an opportunity to talk with a midwife, in a safe, confidential and supported environment.

We welcome you and your whānau to get in touch with us, and look forward to hearing from you.

Criteria

Self-referrals are welcomed for women/mama birthing after July 2022 or hapū.

Why see us?

Sometimes events around a baby’s birth may be confusing, unexpected or unplanned. Labour and birth may have been different to how you expected it to be. There may have been a need for medical intervention, or even a medical emergency. Such events can be difficult to understand without information to ‘fill in the gaps’, have questions answered, or understand the medical assessment and why things happened in labour. Our Birth Afterthoughts clinic provides an opportunity for those gaps or questions to be discussed.

When to see us

We suggest that you wait for 4-6 weeks after giving birth before requesting an appointment to give yourself time to recover from the birth, to allow your thought processes to settle a little and be ready to talk through your birth experience.

What happens when you see us

A midwife and consumer at a birth afterthoughts clinicThe Birth Afterthoughts process can be really helpful if you are finding it difficult to understand, or perhaps come to terms with what happened during your birth experience. It may also be important in helping to prepare for another pregnancy, labour and birth.

During the appointment with the Birth Afterthoughts Clinic you and your whānau can talk with a midwife and read through your birth notes together. You may wish to ask specific questions, or talk about memories, feelings and thoughts you have about the birth and any part of that experience. 

We welcome your partner/support people to attend the clinic with you.

How to book your birth afterthoughts clinic appointment

Appointments are currently available on Friday every week at Christchurch Women’s Hospital.

You can self-refer and contact us by email or by leaving a voicemail message. A midwife will aim to contact you within 5 working days to confirm your appointment.

Phone us on 03 364 4787 or email us at birthafterthoughts@cdhb.health.nz to arrange a time to talk.

When booking an appointment please provide the following information:

  • your name,
  • your date of birth
  • a contact phone number or email address

 Note:  If you prefer, telephone or video appointments are available on request, instead of meeting at a clinic.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Page last updated: 17 January 2023

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