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

New community maternity unit gifted special name – Kurawaka: Waipapa

Monday 12 September 2022Media 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.

Design of internal layout for Kurawaka: Waipapa

Ngāi Tūāhuriri has gifted a special name – Kurawaka: Waipapa – for Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury’s new central city community maternity unit.

The gifted name was chosen by Reriti Tau and given by Te Maire Tau, Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri hapū Ūpoko, because Kurawaka has great significance in Te Ao Māori, the Māori world, for bringing life into the world.

“Kurawaka is the place where the first human being was made by Tāne. Tāne created a figure out of the soil at Kurawaka and blew his breath into its mouth and nose. She then sneezed and came to life, creating the first woman Hine-ahu-one, also known to Ngāi Tahu as Io-wahine,” says Michelle Turrall, chair of Manawhenua Ki Waitaha.

“The various elements that came together at Kurawaka to give life to Hine-ahu-one are symbolic of the journey a woman experiences to pass on this gift of life in the birth of her child.

“Adding Waipapa to the name denotes the whenua of where this unit sits. It means surface water and signifies the many springs that were in the area.”

Executive Director of Midwifery and Maternity Services Norma Campbell says the organisation is privileged to be given such a name for this unit.

“With this name now comes the responsibility to ensure that the vitality given to Hine-ahu-one now flows through the unit to our māmā and pregnant people pēpi and whānau who come to birth there,” says Norma Campbell.

“There are exciting times ahead to have a Te Ao Māori model of care underpinning this unit – we have been gifted this taonga and therefore we are committed to honour that gift.”

Kurawaka: Waipapa is a community maternity unit which will have four birthing rooms, 20 post-natal rooms, two whānau rooms, an education room and six assessment rooms and will be located at 68 St Asaph Street.

“Our Facilities and Infrastructure Programme Office has worked extensively with user groups to complete the design of the internal layout of the unit that meets the needs of the community,” says Dr Rob Ojala, Executive Director Infrastructure.

“The building will now undergo an extensive fit-out to transform it into a welcoming, modern, fit-for-purpose facility and we are looking forward to construction getting underway before the end of the year.”

The tender for the lead contractor to carry out construction closed on 30 August and an appointment is expected shortly. Building consent has also been applied for. The unit is expected to be operational in mid-2023.

More information about our birthing options in Canterbury can be found here https://www.cdhb.health.nz/health-services/maternity-christchurch-canterbury/ 

ENDS

For further information, contact: communications@cdhb.health.nz

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Page last updated: 26 February 2024

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