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.

Kia whakahaumaru te whānau, me ngā iwi katoa – this is 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 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 news

News published about COVID-19 and health services in Canterbury.

Thursday 15 December 2022 Closure of Orchard Road COVID-19 Testing Centre
Friday 16 September 2022 Waitaha Canterbury Hospitals relax visitor restrictions
Friday 2 September 2022 Reopening Waitaha’s rural hospitals
Thursday 25 August 2022 When every vaccination matters
Tuesday 19 July 2022 Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury makes changes to visitor policy to protect vulnerable patients
Thursday 14 July 2022 Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury to postpone outpatient appointments to free up staff to work in acute care
Friday 1 July 2022 Help us help you, by going to the right place for your health care needs
Thursday 23 June 2022 Staying well this Matariki weekend
Tuesday 7 June 2022 Multiple winter illnesses placing pressure on health system; more than 155,000 COVID-19 cases recorded in Canterbury
Tuesday 31 May 2022 Surgery deferred as Christchurch Hospital tops 112% occupancy
Friday 13 May 2022 COVID-19 in Canterbury – case numbers continue to top more than 1000 a day
Monday 18 April 2022 Canterbury DHB updates its visitor policy April 18 2022
Friday 18 March 2022 Additional Novavax COVID-19 vaccine bookings now available in Canterbury
Wednesday 16 March 2022 Nine additional RAT collection sites for Canterbury
Monday 14 March 2022 Vaccination programme re-prioritisation implemented in Canterbury
Monday 14 March 2022 Reporting your RAT result important to get the support you need
Monday 14 March 2022 Some Canterbury health services deferred as DHB staffing impacted by COVID-19
Thursday 10 March 2022 New waiata released to encourage children and their families to get vaccinated
Wednesday 9 March 2022 New community Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) pick up point opened in Rolleston
Sunday 6 March 2022 Canterbury DHB confirms first cases of COVID-19 on Chatham Islands
Sunday 6 March 2022 New RAT collection site to open in Canterbury tomorrow
Tuesday 1 March 2022 New COVID-19 testing centre to open in Rangiora from 9am Thursday 03 March 2022
Tuesday 1 March 2022 Patients in Canterbury rural health facilities to be temporarily relocated
Friday 25 February 2022 Additional screening for patients being admitted to Canterbury DHB hospital and maternity facilities
Friday 25 February 2022 Primary care clinics encouraging Cantabrians to get their boosters
Monday 21 February 2022 New COVID-19 testing centre opens in Wigram from 10am Tuesday 22 February
Thursday 17 February 2022 Ashburton Community Test Centre open for additional testing on Friday and Sunday this week (Canterbury DHB on Facebook)
Sunday 23 January 2022 Surgical masks introduced for all DHB staff and visitors
Friday 14 January 2022 Bookings strongly recommended for tamariki COVID-19 immunisations
Thursday 30 December 2021 Keeping yourself safe with COVID-19 in the Community
Friday 24 December 2021 COVID-19 testing locations over Christmas weekend
Friday 17 December 2021 Canterbury’s government agencies team up to support COVID-19 Care in the Community
Friday 3 December 2021 Canterbury reaches 90 percent fully vaccinated milestone
Wednesday 22 November 2021 COVID-19 testing continues to be available for Cantabrians
Wednesday 17 November 2021 Cantabrians urged to get tested after notification of COVID-19 case
Thursday 4 November 2021 Canterbury DHB makes changes to visitor restrictions following sixth day of no new community cases
Monday 1 November 2021 Visiting Canterbury DHB facilities still limited, due to COVID-19 cases and Locations of Interest in the region
Friday 29 October 2021 COVID-19 testing continues to be available for Cantabrians
Thursday 28 October 2021 Cantabrians urged to get tested after notification of two COVID-19 cases
Wednesday 13 October 2021 Cantabrians urged to get vaccinated on Super Saturday
Friday 1 October 2021 Canterbury’s vaccination roll out accelerates with reopening of drive-through clinic
Wednesday 22 September 2021 Canterbury DHB makes changes to (Christchurch Hospital) visiting hours
Tuesday 7 September 2021 Canterbury DHB makes changes to visiting at its facilities under Delta Alert Level 2
Tuesday 31 August 2021 COVID-19 Alert Level 3 – access to healthcare and visitor restrictions in Canterbury
Saturday 21 August 2021 Free COVID testing is also available through many General Practices as well as at Community-based Testing Centres in Canterbury
Friday 20 August 2021 Canterbury DHB to pilot drive-thru COVID-19 vaccinations for essential workers
Wednesday 18 August 2021 Accessing healthcare in Canterbury under COVID-19 Alert Level 4 restrictions
Wednesday 18 August 2021 Care still available for patients with acute eye conditions, eye injection appointments still going ahead
Wednesday 18 August 2021 Information for visitors and patients - Alert Level 4
Wednesday 30 June 2021 Vaccinations for Chatham Islanders to kick off tomorrow
Thursday 3 June 2021 You’re never too old to get protected
Thursday 6 May 2021 Canterbury COVID-19 vaccination rollout makes its way to Aged Residential Care facilities
Sunday 28 March 2021 COVID-19 vaccination booking system error
Sunday 7 March 2021 Visitor restrictions eased as Canterbury DHB hospitals, health centres and age-related residential care facilities return to Alert Level 1
Sunday 28 February 2021 Surgery and outpatient appointments to go ahead at Canterbury DHB facilities tomorrow
Tuesday 16 February 2021 Canterbury DHB – Changes to visiting at Alert Level 2
Sunday 14 February 2021 Surgery and outpatient appointments to go ahead at Canterbury DHB facilities tomorrow
Friday 6 November 2020 COVID-19 testing continues to be available for Cantabrians
Wednesday 4 November 2020 Second case in Canterbury visited the Chemist Warehouse
Tuesday 3 November 2020 Pop up COVID-19 testing tomorrow in car park at the Princess Margaret Hospital
Wednesday 23 September 2020 Canterbury DHB makes changes to visiting at its facilities under Alert Level 1
Tuesday 18 August 2020 Bring your own mask when visiting the hospital
Friday 14 August 2020 Canterbury DHB makes changes to visiting at its facilities under Alert Level 2
Thursday 13 August 2020 COVID-19 testing is being stepped up, but only for people with symptoms at this time
Wednesday 12 August 2020 Aged Residential Care Facilities following usual infectious disease protocols
Wednesday 12 August 2020 Infection Prevention advice for Cantabrians under COVID-19 Alert Level 2
Friday 10 August 2020 Christchurch COVID-19 pop-up testing centre open this Saturday 11 August 2020
Friday 19 June 2020 Updated visitor guidance under COVID-19 Alert Level 1 for Canterbury DHB facilities
Thursday 4 June 2020 If you have the NZ COVID Tracer App, you’ll soon be able to scan as you enter Canterbury DHB facilities
Monday 2 June 2020 Cantabrians reminded to come to their outpatient or surgical appointments
Friday 15 May 2020 Canterbury DHB makes changes to visiting at its hospitals and health centres under Alert Level 2
Thursday 14 May 2020 Get checked before you break out of your bubble and get jiggy (or do the jiggle wiggle)
Wednesday 6 May 2020 Changes to Burwood Hospital visiting
Wednesday 29 April 2020 Updated visitor guidance under COVID-19 Alert Level 3 for Canterbury DHB facilities
Friday 17 April 2020 Canterbury DHB response to the upsetting news of a death of a former Rosewood Rest Home & Hospital resident
Wednesday 15 April 2020 Family voices speak volumes: Care of psychogeriatric dementia patients from the Rosewood cluster being cared for at Burwood Hospital
Wednesday 15 April 2020 More is not always better when it comes to PPE
Saturday 11 April 2020 Clarification on dementia, psychogeriatric level residents from Rosewood who were relocated to Burwood
Saturday 11 April 2020 Precautions in place to ensure safe transfer of hospital-level residents from Rosewood Rest Home & Hospital
Friday 10 April 2020 Additional 20 Rosewood Rest Home & Hospital hospital-level residents to be moved
Wednesday 8 April 2020 Important message from Canterbury GPs
Monday 6 April 2020 Canterbury DHB moves to support Rosewood Rest Home Dementia facility
Saturday 4 April 2020 Online form now available for expressions of interest to work in the health system
Friday 3 April 2020 Parents and caregivers urged to watch out for choking hazards
Tuesday 31 March 2020 52 COVID-19 cases now confirmed in Canterbury
Friday 27 March 2020 A further twelve COVID-19 cases confirmed in Canterbury
Thursday 26 March 2020 A further ten COVID-19 cases and one probable confirmed in Canterbury over the past two days
Thursday 26 March 2020 COVID-19 Alert Level Four – Updated hospital and clinic visitor policy
Wednesday 25 March 2020 Christchurch Hospital Park and Ride Shuttle Service to be put on hold
Tuesday 24 March 2020 Another two cases of COVID-19 recorded in Canterbury
Tuesday 24 March 2020 Canterbury DHB postpones non-urgent surgeries and non-urgent outpatient appointments, to focus on the COVID-19 response
Tuesday 24 March 2020 Two further cases of COVID-19 in Canterbury
Sunday 22 March 2020 Third case of COVID-19 confirmed in Canterbury
Saturday 21 March 2020 Contextual information regarding airport handout given to disembarking passengers early in the COVID-19 outbreak
Friday 20 March 2020 Second case of COVID-19 confirmed in Canterbury
Friday 20 March 2020 Temporary changes to limit visitor numbers at Canterbury DHB facilities
Sunday 15 March 2020 Passenger aboard the Golden Princess cruise ship berthed at Akaroa today being tested for COVID-19
Thursday 12 March 2020 If in doubt – don’t go out: Cantabrians urged to follow health advice when considering attending public events
Monday 27 January 2020 Canterbury DHB’s public health team providing advice on novel coronavirus to passengers arriving from Mainland China at Christchurch International Airport

 

Page last updated: 8 February 2023

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