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

Saliva drug testing by Canterbury Health Laboratories a New Zealand first

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Wednesday 3 March 2021Media 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.

Senior Scientists in the Toxicology and Workplace Drug Testing department at Canterbury Health Laboratories, Mark Lewis and Sharon Paterson, demonstrate taking a saliva sample for saliva drug testing

An easier and more efficient drug testing alternative to urine samples is now available for the first time in New Zealand through Canterbury Health Laboratories.

A saliva drug test, also known as an oral fluid or a mouth swab drug test, can replace traditional urine tests to detect recent drug use. Many workplaces use urine tests to detect drug use as part of their health and safety efforts. Typically, these are done at specific testing locations to make sure the sample is correctly gathered and not tampered with.

Canterbury Health Laboratories Head of Toxicology Grant Moore says the saliva test offers significant benefits for employers and is more convenient for those being tested.

“Employers can have their own swab kits and do it themselves on site rather than using an external testing agency. They can also directly observe the test.

“For those being tested it means they aren’t having to travel for their test and it is less invasive to collect a mouth swab than a urine sample,” says Grant.

Use of amphetamine-type substances, opiates, cannabis and cocaine within a preceding 24 hour period can be detected by the saliva test, depending on the substance.

“The advantage of testing saliva is that urine testing picks up drugs that have passed through the body whereas saliva registers drugs that may have just been taken but have not yet been fully processed internally.

“This means that, depending on an organisation’s employment policies, it could be used straight away if impairment was suspected or a workplace accident has occurred, and the test is sent away for testing with results within four to five days,” Grant says.

A swab collection kit for taking saliva samples for saliva drug testing

A swab collection kit for taking saliva samples for saliva drug testing

The screening test will indicate if a substance is detected. However, just as with urine testing, if a screening test result doesn’t come back as negative, it needs to be confirmed by an accredited laboratory.

Saliva drug tests are more common overseas, but Canterbury Health Laboratories is the first laboratory in New Zealand offering confirmatory testing for saliva/oral fluid tests. They also supply the swab collection kits for taking the samples.

“People want their loved ones coming home safely from work.

“By making drug screening easier and more convenient we hope we can help make workplaces safer for more Kiwis,” says Grant.

For further information on the saliva drug test kits and confirmatory testing by Canterbury Health Laboratories, contact info@workplacedrugtest.co.nz.

ENDS

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Page last updated: 19 August 2021

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