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 .

Airport-style check in reducing wait times and improving the patient experience

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Thursday 23 May 2019Media release2 minutes to read

THIS IS AN ARCHIVED PAGE. The advice and information contained in this page may not be current and it should only be used for historical reference purposes.

Gaye Meffan makes use of the new self check in kiosks before her Outpatients appointment

Patients with an appointment in the new Christchurch Outpatients building are enjoying a new, simpler and faster method to check-in for their clinics.

Canterbury DHB has installed several touchscreen check-in kiosks on the ground floor of the new building and at reception areas on all other floors.

The innovative new kiosks have been developed by Florence Health*, a New Zealand business from Hawke's Bay.

On entering the Outpatients building, patients are able to use the touchscreen kiosks to scan the barcode on their appointment letters – a similar system to that used at airport check-ins. With their details scanned in, patients will be directed to the correct floor and waiting room for their appointment.

The kiosks also allow patients to check and update important information, such as a change of address or phone number.

“Our patients’ time is valuable, so we must not waste it,” says Canterbury DHB’s Chief Digital Officer Stella Ward.

“Digital solutions such as kiosks reduce queuing and streamline our appointment processes – which is very important in a complex building such as Christchurch Outpatients. With hundreds of appointments booked every day, and with more than 20 different clinical services operating across five floors, it’s vital that the new building runs efficiently.

“The kiosks will also free-up staff time, enabling more high-value work to be completed by our administrative and clinical teams, further benefitting our patients and helping us to deliver the right care in the right place at the right time,” Stella says.

ENDS

*Florence Health’s parent company, Fingermark Ltd., provides digital signage and kiosks to the retail, government and healthcare sectors.

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Page last updated: 19 October 2022

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