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

COVID-19 testing is being stepped up, but only for people with symptoms at this time

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Thursday 13 August 2020Media release2 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.

Covid-19

We have seen a huge increase in demand for testing and we have put on increased testing capacity to help to meet this demand.

Testing is only available for people with symptoms of COVID-19. People without symptoms will not be tested at the moment.

You should contact your GP first if you are unwell and they will likely be able to offer you testing. If this is not available you can attend a testing centre instead.

You will only be tested for COVID-19 at a testing centre – they won’t do a health assessment, so it is important that if you are unwell and need to see a doctor or be assessed, you should contact your GP team as normal.

You do not need a referral to attend a testing centre, you can drive-up or walk-in. Please be aware though that due to high demand, you may have to wait a long time. Please arrive at least half an hour before the facility closes.

Thursday 13th and Friday 14th August
Whānau ora CBAC – 250 Pages Road: 9am-5pm
Orchard Road CBAC – 174 Orchard Road: 9-4pm
Ashburton CBAC – 28 Elizabeth Street, Ashburton (hospital site): 10am-2pm

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Page last updated: 28 February 2024

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