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

Dedicated nurses recruited to reduce pressure injuries

Tuesday 2 October 2018Media release3 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.

Canterbury DHB has recruited the first group of Pressure Injury Prevention Link Nurses, as part of a broader strategy funded by the Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) to reduce the incidence and severity of pressure injuries across Canterbury and the West Coast.

Pressure injuries are commonly known as bed sores, pressure ulcers, pressure sores and decubitus ulcers, and are mostly preventable.

“Pressure injuries have a devastating impact, not only on patients, residents and their families but also on staff and the healthcare system as a whole,” says Dr Nick Kendall, ACC’s Treatment Safety Manager. “For some patients, pressure injuries can take months or even years to heal, causing pain, distress and major disruption to their lives and livelihoods. ACC is pleased to be working with the Canterbury and West Coast communities to make the prevention of pressure injuries a priority.”

Each year it is estimated 55,000 New Zealanders sustain a pressure injury, with 3,000 people developing a pressure injury so serious that muscle, bone or tendon maybe exposed. Pressure injuries cause physical pain and discomfort, result in admission to hospital, longer hospital stays and in some cases, can even lead to death. In addition, treatment of pressure injuries is estimated to cost NZ $694 million each year.

“Data indicates that many more people are admitted to hospitals in Canterbury already experiencing pressure injuries than develop them while in hospital,” says Susan Wood, Director of Quality and Patient Safety, Canterbury and West Coast DHBs. “While we need to prevent pressure injuries in our hospitals, we are also focusing on community prevention and raising awareness of the risk factors and management strategies to prevent pressure injuries in the community and all health care facilities.”

The newly recruited Pressure Injury Prevention Link Nurses will be trained to teach, promote, monitor/undertake surveillance, and motivate their healthcare colleagues to deliver best practice in the prevention and management of pressure injuries.

The Accident Compensation Corporation funds and supports this pressure injury prevention initiative that will:

  • Empower patients and their families on how to prevent pressure injuries
  • Refocus attention on the basics of care, which includes skin assessments, making sure people keep moving when lying or sitting, are eating well and keeping their skin clean and dry
  • Refine and update pressure injury information across the community
  • Support Link Nurses to become pressure injury prevention clinical leaders
  • Establish an online forum for all health care professionals to come together to share ideas, resources, expertise and information to reduce the devastating impact of pressure injuries.

ENDS

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Page last updated: 19 October 2022

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