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

WellNow Canterbury – Spring 2019

Tuesday 29 October 2019WellNow Canterbury Magazine2 minutes to read

WellNow Canterbury is our community health magazine that goes to every mailbox in Canterbury and the Chatham Islands twice a year. This A Snapshot of how we’re doing edition demonstrates how we are meeting the Health Quality & Safety Commission’s requirements that DHBs give an account for the quality of their services, providing a snapshot of how our health system is meeting Canterbury’s health needs, and showcases our work to improve services and standards of care.

The online-only version features a How we measure up section, charting our performance against the national health targets, the quality and safety markers as set by the Health Quality & Safety Commission, and other key measures.

Highlighted stories

Heroes for the day: The masks putting young cancer patients at ease

Putting on a radiotherapy mask can be a claustrophobic experience, particularly for kids. To help make the experience better, some of the hospital’s radiotherapy masks have been painted, transforming their young patients into little superheroes, with Spiderman™ and the Black Panther™ now regular visitors to Christchurch Hospital’s Oncology Department.

Connecting is key to improving health outcomes for Pasifika people

Achieving better health outcomes for Pasifika people is both a national and DHB priority. Two Christchurch-based Pasifika health providers, the Tangata Atumotu Trust and Etu Pasifika, share an understanding of Pasifika people’s holistic view of health, and are building connections and making a difference.

Restorative Care: Get up, get dressed, get moving

Based on the concept of ‘get up, get dressed, get moving’, Restorative Care takes a proactive approach to boosting a person’s ability to recover from injury or illness and enables them to actively contribute to decisions about their care. Thanks to the success of a pilot at Burwood Hospital, the approach was launched Christchurch Hospital-wide last year and is helping patients recover faster.

You can read the full online magazine in two different formats:

View on issuu.com Download PDF (5MB)

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Page last updated: 5 November 2019

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