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

Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department under significant pressure

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Wednesday 6 March 2024Media release3 minutes to read

 

Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department under significant pressure

Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department under significant pressure

Please attribute comment to Jo Gibbs, Interim Group Director of Operations for Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Canterbury

Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department under significant pressure

Christchurch Hospital’s Emergency Department (ED) is currently experiencing high demand and is extremely busy. There is no single reason for high numbers of patients attending at present, but we are currently seeing patients with a range of complex conditions.

There are more than 100 people being cared for in ED at 9.15pm Tuesday. Christchurch Hospital ED is one of the busiest emergency departments in the country and at its peak has seen up to 430 people in a 24-hour period. The usual number of attendances is between 330 and 370 people every day.  To have more than 100 people being looked after at this time is a large number of unwell people to assess and care for. We expect the high rates of occupancy and presentations will continue through until tomorrow morning (Wednesday).

As always, patients are prioritised soon after arrival and seen in order of urgency.

If it’s not an emergency we encourage you to seek alternative health advice, however if you choose to wait, please be aware that you might be in for a long wait if it’s not an emergency. 

Free health advice is available from a range of providers, including free health advice over the phone by calling Healthline on 0800 611 116 – they are available 24/7 or consider a virtual telehealth consultation with a registered New Zealand health practitioner for non-urgent health issues https://healthify.nz/apps/v/virtual-consult-apps/ 

https://info.health.nz/ is a trusted source of easy to use health information.

If you live in or are visiting a rural area, you can try Ka Ora, a new telehealth service for those in rural area – including Ashburton. Call Ka Ora on 0800 252 672 – you can have a virtual appointment with a clinician the same day. Fees may apply. 

Anyone experiencing a medical emergency should still call 111 immediately.

Thank you for keeping the Emergency Department free for those who have no alternative and need life-saving emergency care. And thank you for your patience if you do have an extended wait, we know if can be stressful and frustrating if you’re not feeling well.

More options for people with non-urgent health problems are listed below:

  • Minor injuries and illnesses like colds, coughs, fevers and mild COVID-19 can be treated safely at home. Check out the free advice available on Healthify in the Health A to Z https://healthify.nz/health-a-z/
  • You can visit https://yourbestcare.co.nz/ to learn more about the healthcare choices available
  • Consider a virtual appointment with a NZ-registered Doctor who can give advice and prescriptions etc online via phone, laptop or other device, from the comfort of your own home (https://healthify.nz/apps/v/virtual-consult-apps/)
  • Your local pharmacy can advise on over-the-counter medications and treatments including pain management.
  • Many GPs can issue repeat prescriptions over the phone or online
  • If you have a sprain or injury, you can go straight to a physio without a referral – they can register an ACC claim, and organise X-rays and specialist referrals.

ENDS

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Page last updated: 6 March 2024

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