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

Get up to date this Cervical Screening Awareness Month

Thursday 1 September 2016Media 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.

Young girls and women are being encouraged to get up to date with their HPV immunisation and cervical smears this Cervical Screening Awareness Month.

“We know that cervical cancer is one the most preventable cancers, and being immunised against HPV as a young women and having regular smears as an adult helps reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer by around 90 per cent,” Clinical Director of the National Screening Unit, Dr Jane O'Hallahan says.

HPV immunisation is currently available and free for girls and young women up until their 20th birthday. From 1 January 2017 it will also be available free from ages 9 to 26, and for boys and young men as well. The HPV Immunisation Programme aims to protect young people from HPV infection, which causes more than 90 per cent of cervical cancers.

Meanwhile, around 1.5 million women are enrolled in the National Cervical Screening Programme and around 400,000 women are screened annually. A cervical smear test usually takes less than 15 minutes and should be done every three years.

“The National Cervical Screening Programme aims to get 80 per cent of New Zealand women between the ages of 20 and 70 screened regularly. While we're nearly there with 76.5 per cent coverage nationwide, there's still much work to be done, especially with Māori, Pacific and Asian women.

“We're taking a multi-pronged approach to getting women to participate in regular screening. We contract with a number of providers who deliver individually-tailored and practical support, such as transporting and accompanying women to screening appointments. We also offer free smears for some women and are in the process of developing a new website and social marketing campaign to encourage women to get screened.

“Currently, around 150 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 50 women die from it each year in New Zealand. HPV immunisation combined with regular smears is the best way to bring these numbers down.”

To find out when your next smear is due either call your GP or free-phone 0800 729 729.

More information on the National Cervical Screening programme is available at www.nsu.govt.nz

More information on the HPV immunisation programme is available at www.moh.govt.nz

Media contact: Rachael Bruce 021 705 469

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Page last updated: 19 October 2022

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