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

Cycle lanes bring many benefits

Friday 4 December 2015Media 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.

The Canterbury District Health Board has submitted in favour of proposals by the Christchurch City Council to develop more cycle lanes in Christchurch.

The Council has been seeking feedback on proposed new cycle lanes in the city over the last few months.

Dr Alistair Humphrey, Canterbury Medical Officer of Health, says cycle lanes benefit people's health, the environment, and business.

“One of the key ways of tackling our rising rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease is to change our environment so that it's easier to get active. This is exactly what cycle lanes help to do,” Dr Humphrey says.

“Not only do cycle lanes lead to a healthier population, they're great for our environment. More cyclists means fewer cars, and that means lower carbon emissions. In a time when the world is grappling with how to respond to climate change, cycle lanes stand out as an easy way to lower emissions and protect our planet.”

Dr Humphrey says replacing car parks with space for bicycles also makes economic sense.

“Many cities are becoming more cycle friendly and this has created a whole body of evidence on the impact of cycle lanes on nearby businesses. It's clear from this that replacing on-street parking with cycle lanes can be good for business.

“Cyclists can't carry as much, so visit shops more often than motorists. Research shows that over the course of a week cyclists end up spending about the same, or even more, than motorists. 

“You can fit six bikes into a single car parking space, so replacing car parks with spaces for bikes should in fact be very good for business, as well as benefiting health and the environment,” Dr Humphrey says.

More information

A video featuring Dr Humphrey talking about the benefits of cycle lanes can be found here: https://vimeo.com/147798934

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Page last updated: 19 October 2022

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