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 .

Health providers and counsellors

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Health providers and counsellors

Talk to a doctor

As soon as you enroll with a general practice, you immediately have a team of people ready to help you and your family stay well and healthy.

The GP can talk to you, provide treatment and care, and help find other support if needed. You can call your general practice team 24/7 and receive advice after-hours from a registered nurse for yourself or a loved one. If you do not have a GP there is more information on how to find one and enroll below:

Counselling services

  • Call or text 1737 any time, day or night, to talk with a trained counsellor for free.
  • Christchurch Resettlement Services – the counselling team can provide counselling for people from who are migrants and refugees in their mother tongue or with the support of an interpreter.
  • Purapura Whetu – offer free individual support for people with a suspected, developing or identifiable mental illness, and/or an addiction problem. Their mobile team provide support to the Muslim community in the Canterbury area in their home and/or the community. 
  • The Canterbury Charity Hospital offers free counselling services.
  • 298 Youth Health provides free counselling and medical care for children and young people aged 10 to 24 years.
  • The Women's Centre offers free counselling services for women.
  • Canterbury Men’s Centre offers counselling for men – you may be eligible for a Work and Income NZ Disability Allowance and the Centre can help you navigate that process.
  • To talk to someone about support for wellbeing concerns for your child or young person please contact:
  • The Mental Health Education and Resource Centre offers a list of counselling services available in the Christchurch and Canterbury region.

Workplace support

Most organisations offer mental health support through Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) or from people within the organisation. You can also seek help through your GP.

Page last updated: 17 April 2023

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