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

Progress towards Akaroa IFHC

Wednesday 19 August 2015Media 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.

Canterbury DHB has begun consultation on its proposal to sell land on the Akaroa Hospital site to support the development of a new Integrated Family Health Centre (IFHC) in the town.

As is legally required, the DHB is proposing to sell just over an acre of land, part of the old ‘Akaroa Hospital site'.

David Meates, Canterbury DHB's CEO, says the DHB is encouraging the community and interested parties to say what they think about the proposal over the next few weeks.

“We look forward to hearing your views on the proposal to sell the land as a significant step towards the development of the IFHC,” Mr Meates says.

He says the intention is to sell the land to a limited liability partnership, created specifically to support the development of a community-owned IFHC on the Akaroa Hospital site.

The partners would be the Akaroa Community Trust, Canterbury DHB and Ngāi Tahu Property Limited.

“If the sale goes ahead, the sale and lease terms will specify that the land must be used for the delivery of IFHC-based health and support services.

“Community ownership and governance would also support the continued use of the land for health purposes.”

Mr Meates says it's an important step towards ensuring the community has the right care, in the right place, at the right time by the right person.

“IFHCs support a wide range of services, closer to people's homes. They also have the potential to provide some services traditionally delivered in hospitals,” he says.

Meanwhile Canterbury DHB is also giving advance notice of plans to start demolition of the old Akaroa Hospital next month. It was damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes.

“Work is expected to start soon with input from Ōnuku Rūnanga to ensure Māori protocols are followed during demolition.”

Mr Meates says the work has been on the cards for some time.

“The demolition is in no way second-guesses the outcome of the consultation and the timing is purely coincidental – demolition of the old hospital was always part of the plan,” he says.

“I recognise many will be sad to see the demolition of a building that has served its community well over the years. I sincerely hope that once the site has been cleared, people will be better able to visualise a bright future for Akaroa health services.”​

Feedback on the the proposed sale of land is sought via an electronic submission form at the end of the consultation document that can be found at www.cdhb.health.nz/engagement

People can also obtain a hard copy from the Akaroa Library or Akaroa Health Centre until 5pm on 11 September when the consultation period ends.

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Page last updated: 19 October 2022

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