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

Most services returning to Christchurch Outpatients building from Monday 15 April

Friday 12 April 2019Media 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.

The Christchurch Outpatients building will be back in action next week with most services back in their normal locations from the building on Monday next week

Please attribute comment to David Meates, Chief Executive, Canterbury District Health Board

I am pleased to report that due to extraordinary efforts from a large team who have worked to dry-out and fix the damage caused by flooding inside the new Outpatients building, most of the building will reopen to the public on Monday 15 April. 

The necessary repairs and testing have been carried out to ensure it will be safe for staff and patients to reoccupy most of the building.

Unfortunately some areas of the building that were worst-affected on the ground floor and parts of the 2nd floor are still being remediated. Work will continue in those isolated areas next week.

All services apart from Diabetes and Endocrine services and Ophthalmology [the Eye service] will be back in their usual locations in the Outpatients building next week. 

  • People who have appointments with the Diabetes service are being seen in a different location. 
  • Some people with essential eye appointments are being seen in alternative locations, with a only a small number being seen in the Outpatients building from Monday. However, some eye appointments for next week have had to be rescheduled. 

People who have appointment letters or texts should continue to turn up to the location on the letter unless you have been contacted and advised otherwise.  If you’re not sure where to go please call the phone number on your appointment letter.

Since the flooding occurred we have had to postpone and reschedule around 700 outpatient appointments a day. During this time arrangements have also be made for some urgent appointments for acutely unwell people to go ahead in alternative locations. 

Contacting patients and rescheduling so many appointments has been a massive undertaking for our administrative staff, and I’d like to thank all of our teams who have worked extremely hard to contact the thousands of people affected.

I would also like to thank the public for their patience as we know having your appointment postponed and rescheduled has been disappointing and inconvenient and we apologise for this unexpected disruption.

Background Information

Early in the morning on Friday 29 March, steam from a burst heating pipe activated the fire sprinkler system which flooded the new Christchurch Outpatients building. There was significant damage to some walls, floors and ceilings.

*Please note that existing appointments at Christchurch Women’s, Christchurch Hospital or Burwood Hospital have not been affected.

ENDS

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Page last updated: 19 October 2022

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