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

Nurses, midwives and healthcare workers’ strike, June 9 2021

  1. Home
  2. Health news
  3. Nurses, midwives and healthcare workers’ strike, June 9 2021

Friday 28 May 2021Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury News3 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.

Nurses, midwives and healthcare workers’ strike, June 9, 2021

Nurses, midwives and healthcare workers’ strike, June 9, 2021

Canterbury DHB is preparing for a nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants’ strike from 11am to 7pm on Wednesday June 9, 2021. It is estimated that most of the DHB’s nursing workforce (approx. 4700 staff members) are eligible to strike, and the strike will be severely disruptive to health services. We acknowledge and respect NZNO members’ right to take this action.

Canterbury DHB is working on the assumption that the strike will go ahead and is implementing contingency plans accordingly.  Here are some of the key elements of those plans:

What to do if you are sick or injured during the strike

  • Access emergency and urgent care as you usually would – the ED, maternity services, ambulances and kidney dialysis for example will all continue to operate throughout the strike. They will, however, be under even greater pressure than usual.
  • If you don’t need care urgently, call your GP team at any time of day or night (24/7), and they will advise you what to do and where to go.
  • During the strike, Christchurch’s three urgent care facilities; 24 hour surgery, Riccarton Clinic and Moorhouse Medical will have extra staff on to cope with additional demand.

Rescheduling surgeries and outpatient appointments around June 9

As we had more notice than usual for this strike, we hadn’t confirmed many appointments or planned surgeries for that day. Over the coming days, Canterbury DHB will be calling anyone who did have an outpatient appointment or planned surgery that will potentially be impacted by the strike – this could be on the day of the strike itself, or in the days on either side.

Urgent procedures, such as cancer surgery, will be prioritised to go ahead during the planned strike period on a case-by-case basis.

If you have an outpatient appointment on June 9, or surgery planned in the days leading up to or on the day of the strike and haven’t heard from us by midday on Friday, June 4, please call the specific service detailed on your appointment letter. If you can’t find the letter, call the switchboard on 03 364 0640 between 8am and 5pm and ask to be connected with the appropriate service.

What can you do to help?

If you have family, whānau or friends that will be in hospital on June 9, you are welcome to spend more time with them, to provide support and reassurance.

Tags

Back to Health News

Page last updated: 28 February 2024

Is this page useful?