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 RAT collection site to open in Canterbury tomorrow

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Sunday 6 March 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.

A new RAT collection site will open tomorrow, Monday 7 March

A sixth community Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) pick up point opens tomorrow at 11am at the Christchurch Arena. Entry for RATs pick up is only from the Wrights Road entrance to the Arena. 

From Tuesday the new Christchurch Arena site will be open 7 days a week from 9am – 3pm until further notice.

It’s important that people who need RATs don’t try to enter the new Christchurch Arena collection centre via Wrights Road.  That entrance is only for people coming for vaccinations. You will not be able to access the RAT pick up point from Wrights Road.

To help speed things up at all our RAT collection sites please remember to place your order for RATs before heading to a collection site – and have your order number at the ready.

Orders can be made via the online system at https://requestrats.covid19.health.nzor by free calling 0800 222 478 to request your RAT tests.

  • RATs are free for people with COVID-19 symptoms or who are a household contact or who been instructed to get tested by a healthcare professional
  • Critical workers who are household contacts
  • Border workers who are required to be tested under the Required Testing Order

  The full list of Community Collection Centres for RATs in Canterbury:

  • Wigram COVID-19 Testing & RAT Collection Centre (35 Mustang Avenue, Wigram entry via Sioux Avenue) Drive-through only, open 10am – 3pm 7 days a week.
  • Whānau Ora Covid-19 Testing & RAT Collection Centre (250 Pages Road, Wainoni), open 9am – 3:30pm, 7 days a week.
  • Orchard Road Covid-19 Testing & RAT Collection Centre (174 Orchard Road, Harewood) Open 9am – 4pm, 7 days a week.
  • Waimakariri Covid-19 RAT Collection Centre (Waimakariri Hockey Turf, 291 Coldstream Road, Rangiora) Drive-through only, open 9am -3pm, 7 days a week.
  • Christchurch Arena RAT Collection Centre (opens 11am – 3pm Monday 7 March, then 9am – 3pm daily from Tuesday 8 March until further notice).
  • Ashburton COVID-19 Testing & RAT Collection Centre (48 South Street, Ashburton entry off Cass Street) Open 9.30am – 2.30pm, 7 days a week.

As staffing resources allow, further RAT Collection sites will be set up in other areas.  Please check Healthpoint and the Canterbury DHB website for the latest information on sites and opening times, as they will change over time.

Note that you may need to wait if it’s busy. Our staff are doing their very best to provide RATs to everyone who needs them as quickly as possible. They deserve respect and kindness while they do their work.

REMEMBER TO REPORT ALL YOUR RAT RESULTS

It’s important that you report every RAT result – negative and positive – on My Covid Record website: https://mycovidrecord.health.nz/ as this helps the Ministry of Health understand the size and trends of the outbreak.

If you need a hand or would prefer to record your result over the phone, you can call 0800 222 478. Parents and caregivers can report the results for tamariki/children via the 0800 numbers.  You can ask questions about the process of recording your results by emailing help@mycovidrecord.min.health.nz

The Ministry of Health has produced a video which outlines the process.

ENDS

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Page last updated: 27 February 2024

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