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

Help keep our tamariki well by keeping bugs like RSV away from babies/pēpi

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Friday 9 July 2021Media 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.

Visitor guidance is in place at Christchurch Hospital

A common winter virus called RSV is currently spreading across New Zealand and making babies/pēpi sick. RSV is incredibly infectious and can easily pass from person to person through coughing and sneezing.

Canterbury and West Coast DHBs’ Medical Officer of Health, Dr Ramon Pink says RSV can be very serious for young children and newborns in particular.

“For that reason Canterbury and West Coast DHBs request that only well-parents and caregivers visit their baby/pēpi in hospital and ask people not to visit anyone if they are unwell. Fewer people in means less risk to the baby/patient.

“Please look out for the symptoms below in children under the age of one especially, and contact your GP team or healthcare provider for advice if you are concerned.

“In Canterbury you can call your usual GP number 24/7 for free advice. After hours a nurse will be able to advise you what to do and where to go. On the West Coast people should call their GP during normal hours and Healthline on 0800 611 116 after hours,” says Dr Pink.

Masks are advised for visitors to hospital where they cannot physically distance themselves from strangers or where they are visiting someone who may be particularly vulnerable.

What to look out for
RSV symptoms include a runny nose, decrease in appetite, coughing, sneezing, fever (often mild) and wheezing or noisy breathing. It can cause more serious illness such as bronchiolitis (narrowing of airways in infants) and pneumonia – in which case they will need hospital care.

When to seek urgent advice

Parents and caregivers should seek urgent medical advice if their baby or infant has symptoms and:

  • is under three months old
  • is breathing fast, noisily or is having to use extra effort to breathe
  • looks pale and unwell
  • is taking less than half their normal feeds
  • is vomiting
  • has not had a wet nappy for more than six hours.

Parents and caregivers should call 111 for an ambulance if a child:

  • has blue lips and tongue
  • has severe difficulty breathing
  • is becoming very sleepy and not easy to wake up
  • is floppy
  • has breathing that is not regular, or they pause in their breathing.

Simple things you can do yourself

All the precautions you know so well from our COVID-19 response will also help stop the spread of RSV and other winter illnesses: 

  • Keep children home if they’re sick and stay home yourself if you’re not well
  • Wash your hands often with soap or use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser
  • Cough or sneeze into your elbow
  • Wear a mask or face covering on public transport or when you cannot physically distance from strangers.

For more information on RSV from the Ministry of Health, visit https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/conditions-and-treatments/diseases-and-illnesses/respiratory-syncytial-virus-rsv

ENDS

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Page last updated: 9 September 2021

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