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

Visiting hospital services in Canterbury (including attending outpatient appointments)

COVID-19 recommendations and restrictions when visiting hospitals 

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.

 

Visitors are welcome at our Tuarangi facility in Ashburton and our Aged Care residents within Kaikoura Health, subject to the space available. All visitors are recommended to wear a medical face mask.

Visiting hours for services in Christchurch Women's Hospital maternity services are as follows:

  • Partners 8am – 9pm
  • Open visiting 10am – 1pm and 3pm – 8pm
  • Rest period 1pm – 3pm

Visiting hours for our Community Maternity Units can be found here

All visitors who are able to are recommended to wear a medical mask for the duration of their visit. However, we appreciate that some siblings may be too young to wear a mask.

To minimise risk, masked adults may visit, subject to the space available, and siblings are the only child visitors allowed.

Women in labour in the Christchurch Women’s Hospital birthing suite, on the Maternity Ward and at our Community Maternity Units can have the usual support people, subject to space, for the duration of their stay in our facilities.

Parents/caregivers can be with their baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Antenatal classes have resumed, but medical masks are recommended where they are being held on health facility premises.

  • If you are unwell, please don’t use the shuttle
  • Passengers are recommended to wear a medical mask on the shuttle as we often have vulnerable passengers on board
  • Shuttle passengers are asked to use the hand sanitiser upon entry to the shuttle.

People can have one or two support people to accompany them. We understand that in addition to this, people may need to bring young children to an appointment – please encourage them to wear a mask if they are old enough to do so.

Where a person with a disability needs a support person to access health services, for example, a sign language interpreter, support person for a learning disability, or someone to assist with mobility – that support person is in addition to permitted visitor/s.

Café opening hours are back to normal and they are open to both staff and public as follows. We encourage people to wear masks in our cafés when food and beverages are not being consumed:

CafesOpening hoursPayment Method
Great Escape Café9am - 7.30pm, 7 days.Cash and Cashless payments
Willow Lane, Waipapa8am - 8pm, 7 days.Cashless transactions only
Kanuka, Outpatients7am - 3.30pm, Monday - Friday.​Cashless transactions only
PeaBerry, Waipapa
7am - 3.30pm, Monday - Friday.Cashless transactions only
Parkside Café
7am - 3pm, Monday - Friday.Cash and Cashless payments
Christchurch Women's Hospital Café8am - 2pm, Monday - Friday.Cashless transactions only
Ashburton Hospital Café8am - 3:30pm, Monday - Friday.Cash and Cashless payments
Burwood Travis Courtyard Café8am - 4pm, 7 days.Cash and Cashless payments
Hillmorton Hospital Avon Café8am - 3pm, Monday - Friday.Cash and Cashless payments

 

Page last updated: 28 February 2024

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