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

Treat all flood water as contaminated & keep up to date on the safety of your drinking water

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Monday 31 May 2021Media release4 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.
Adverse weather and flood-related public health advice from Canterbury DHB

Adverse weather and flood-related public health advice from Canterbury DHB

As flood waters have continued to rise in many areas throughout Canterbury, a number of drinking water supplies have been placed under boil water and/or conserve water notices. It’s important to follow this advice to protect your health.

Please keep up to date with the latest alerts regarding drinking water for your area, by checking with your local District Council, as they have the most up to date information.

For the latest updates on drinking water, ‘like’ your local District Council’s Facebook page, or check the latest news on their website:

Hurunui:

Waimakariri:

Christchurch and Banks Peninsula:

Selwyn:

Ashburton:

Timaru:

Mackenzie:

Contaminated flood waters

Avoid contact with flood waters if you can and assume they will be contaminated by sewage.

There is also a danger of injury from floating objects and hazards hidden below the surface. If there are power outages in your area, be wary of power lines that might be down and be even more hazardous in wet conditions.

If you do come into contact with flood waters, change out of any wet clothes and shoes and put them aside to be washed later. Wash skin that has come into contact with flood waters, and wash your hands as soon as you reasonably can – or use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser.

Further advice on safely cleaning up after flooding can be found here.

Emergency services, hospital/health centres and appointments

If you require emergency care, call 111 service and ambulances are operating, subject to changing road conditions. The Emergency Department at Waipapa, ambulances and Urgent Care Clinics (24hr Surgery, Moorhouse Medical Centre and Riccarton Clinic) are all open. Our rural hospitals are open for visiting and maternity services are operating as usual.

Please note: all Outpatient appointments at Ashburton Hospital have been postponed today, and tomorrow (Tuesday 1 June) – apart from fracture clinics. Medical day unit and chemotherapy appointments at Ashburton Hospital will also be postponed tomorrow. Individuals are being contacted wherever possible to let them know.

If you have an Outpatient appointment at any other Canterbury DHB hospital or health centre tomorrow (or while the weather disruption lasts), please assume it will go ahead unless you are contacted individually to say otherwise. If you cannot make your appointment, please let us know as soon as you can by calling the number on your appointment letter.

Food safety

If you lose power at any stage, avoid opening your fridge and freezers unnecessarily. If frozen food has been defrosted but has been kept chilled, it should be used as soon as possible – as if it had been bought fresh.

Do not refreeze high risk items such as meat, fish and poultry. If you think these food items may have been at room temperature for two or more hours, do not eat them – if in doubt, throw it out.

General health and wellbeing

Please continue to check on neighbours and vulnerable people near where you live. Check they have supplies, including medications, and share with them the advice on water and food safety.

If you need to see a GP and have trouble getting there, phone them for advice. Even if they are closed, your call will be put through to a nurse who can advise you on what to do. In an emergency, always call 111.

If you require essential prescription medications and your supply is running low, call your normal GP of community pharmacy for advice.

Stay ready and informed

Check and restock your emergency kit for future events:

Here is a link with flood-specific advice: https://getready.govt.nz/emergency/floods/

ENDS

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Page last updated: 19 August 2021

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