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

Kiwi Ingenuity Bolsters Health Education Toolbox

Tuesday 20 November 2018Media 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.

What do you get when you combine a cheap Android tablet, some skilled wood carving, grey paint, an old bedside hospital locker, and a good dose of clever software engineering?

The answer is a simulated X-ray control panel that looks and acts like the real thing at a fraction of the price for the state-of-the-art Manawa Simulation Centre.

The panel was completed by the Medical Physics and Bioengineering department at Christchurch Hospital, in collaboration with staff from Ara Institute of Canterbury, and was created to enable radiology students to practice their X-ray technique in a safe, radiation-free environment.

The Medical Imaging area needed a fully functioning X-ray control panel, says Biomedical Engineer Michael Sheedy.

“These are very expensive but in a few weeks we were able to design and produce a replica at an extremely reduced cost that emulates everything the real one can do.”

A team of technicians ‘hand sculpted’ the case from MDF and mounted a sheet of plastic to simulate the leaded glass and wired up the electronics, including a real X-ray exposure button for added realism.

“We are very pleased with the result,” Michael says.

Manawa, the health research and education facility, is a collaboration between Christchurch’s health and tertiary education sectors, bringing together the Canterbury District Health Board, Ara and University of Canterbury to help create and train the health workforce.

The simulation floor at Manawa enables large-scale simulations in real world healthcare environments and provides access to advanced clinical equipment that students would normally only see during placements.

Clinical Skills Co-ordinator Christine Beasley says the project team have really worked their magic to meet the needs of the Ara students.

“This enables students to get the full experience before they use them on clinical placement and we are thrilled with the outcome.”

ENDS

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Page last updated: 19 October 2022

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