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 can also read the additional COVID-19 related visiting guidelines .

Canterbury and West Coast DHBs planning for 19 August NZNO and MERAS strikes well underway

Friday 13 August 2021Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury News4 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.

Update 18 August 2021: Please note that this strike notice has been withdrawn.

Canterbury and the West Coast DHBs are implementing contingency plans for the NZNO and MERAS strike action next week

Canterbury and the West Coast DHBs are implementing contingency plans for the strike action planned by New Zealand Nurses’ Organisation (NZNO) and Midwifery Employee Representation & Advisory Service (MERAS) members on Thursday 19 August.

  • NZNO members are striking for eight hours between 11am and 7pm.
  • MERAS midwives are striking for 12 hours between 8am and 8pm.

NZNO and MERAS members include many of the nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants working for DHBs as well as some working elsewhere in health.

Dr Peter Bramley, Chief Executive for both DHBs, says the number one priority is patient safety, closely followed by minimising the impact on patients.

“Our contingency plans are about rescheduling what isn’t urgent and reducing the demand on the staff who will be working on those days.

“111 calls will be responded to as usual and people should access urgent and emergency care as they normally would – but you can expect staff to be stretched and wait times to be longer,” says Dr Bramley.

Women who are pregnant should contact their Lead Maternity Carer as they would normally if they have concerns or suspect they are in labour.

Acute services will also remain available throughout the period of the planned strike, such as unplanned or emergency surgery, all intensive care units, Oncology and the Renal Dialysis unit and all maternity units. We have agreed plans with the local union representatives to provide life-preserving services (LPS) to ensure patients receive safe and appropriate care during the strike period in all of our areas.

“There are close to 5000 nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants at Canterbury DHB and an estimated 250 or so on the West Coast who may strike. The strikes are expected to cause significant disruption to non-urgent services in both DHB areas and could mean longer waits for acute or emergency care with fewer staff working.

“We apologise in advance for any inconvenience and distress the strike action may cause, while respecting our staff’s right to take industrial action and acknowledging the valued role they play in our health system,” Dr Bramley says.

We have begun contacting people with surgery or outpatient appointments scheduled for just before or during the strike period, and we’re rebooking these appointments to ensure there is sufficient capacity to continue to provide emergency care during the strikes, and to reduce the demand on staff.

Similarly, emergency caesareans will continue to be available to women who need them, but elective (planned) caesareans and inductions of labour will not go ahead unless clinically indicated.

“Our advice to women due on or near the day of the strikes is to stick to the plan you have with your LMC midwife or the hospital clinic. If a maternity-related booking or appointment with us needs to change, we will let you know. If you go into labour, contact your LMC to come in to be assessed.

“Urgent procedures and non-deferrable surgery, such as cancer surgery will be prioritised to go ahead during the planned strike period on a case-by-case basis,” Dr Bramley says.

“We will also be discharging as many patients as is safe ahead of the strike period, reducing the number of people in our care in anticipation of our reduced workforce for the period of the strike.

“We need to ensure those working during that period are available to care for patients with high and complex needs, as well as those needing emergency care,” he says.

Useful numbers for contacting the appropriate service on the West Coast can be found here: http://www.cdhb.health.nz/Hospitals-Services/hospitals/Pages/default.aspx

Phone numbers for individual Canterbury Hospital sites can be found here:http://www.cdhb.health.nz/Hospitals-Services/hospitals/Pages/default.aspx

We’d like to thank our Canterbury and West Coast communities in advance, for their understanding and support during this period of strike action.

ENDS

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Page last updated: 28 February 2024

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