HOSPITAL VISITING

All hospital visitors are recommended to wear a medical face mask. For more information about visiting: Visitors and family. See our COVID-19 page for general COVID-19 advice, detailed hospital visiting guidelines and COVID-19 tests.

See West Coast COVID-19 vaccination clinics for info on vaccinations link COVID-19 Vaccination • West Coast • Healthpoint

Last updated:
16 September 2022

Fewer visitor restrictions now apply

For visitors to all facilities (effective from and last updated on 16 September 2022)

Some visitor restrictions for all Te Whatu Ora Te Tai o Poutini West Coast health facilities remain in place, but we have relaxed others.

There is still a heightened risk to vulnerable people in hospital and so people must continue to wear a mask when visiting any of our facilities and follow other advice designed to keep patients, staff and other 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 in single rooms may have more than one visitor while patients in multi-bed rooms can have one visitor only per patient to ensure there is no overcrowding.
  • People can have one or two support people to accompany them to outpatients appointments.
  • Women in labour in a birthing suite, in Te Nīkau Hospital’s Maternity Ward and in Buller’s Kawatiri Maternity Unit can have the usual support people, subject to space, for the duration of their stay in our facilities.
  • Eating or drinking at the bedside is at the discretion of the Clinical Nurse Manager. Visitors must not eat or drink in multibed rooms because of the increased risk when multiple people remove their 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.

Mask wearing

  • Surgical/medical masks must be worn at all sites, except in counselling, mental health and addiction services where it’s on a case-by-case agreement with patients. Masks will be provided if you don’t have one. In higher-risk environments, people, including young children, may not be able to visit if they cannot wear a mask.
  • Any member of the public with a mask exemption is welcome in all our facilities when attending to receive health care and *treatment. Please show your mask exemption card and appointment letter to staff at the entrance. *Treatment includes coming into the Emergency Department, outpatient appointments, surgery or a procedure.

Visiting patients with COVID-19

  • People are able to 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.

You must NOT visit our facilities if you

  • are COVID-19 positive
  • are unwell. Please stay home if you have a tummy bug or cold or flu/COVID-19-like symptoms (even if you’ve tested negative for COVID-19).

Te Whatu Ora West Coast Aged Residential Care facilities

Visitors are welcome at our Aged Care Residential facilities, subject to the space available. All visitors must wear a surgical mask.

More COVID-19 information

Quality Accounts 2018 Focus on People

Focus on People is West Coast DHB’s special newsletter, published at the end of every year.

This special 2018 edition once again shares with our wider community special achievements and stories on the beautiful West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island.  We invite you to all celebrate with us!

Articles in this newsletter include:

  1. Message from West Coast DHB Chief Executive David Meates and Medical Director, Patient Safety & Outcomes Vicki Roberson
  2. Endoscopy coordinator receives award
  3. Pregnancy support from rural midwife worth its weight in gold
  4. West Coast DHB health targets
  5. Working as a midwife on the West Coast
  6. WCDHB Strategic Focus and Priorities
  7. The value of community teamwork
  8. Community falls prevention
  9. Enhancing patient experience in theatre
  10. Improvements to infusion and oncology services benefit patients
  11. CT head perfusion scans available
  12. Embedding Takarangi cultural competency framework into West Coast health services
  13. West Coast health facilities update (Including Timelapse images)
  14. A decade of Walking in Another’s Shoes
  15. Empowering inpatient nursing staff
  16. West Coast Alliance highlights key achievements
  17. Palliative care team increases its public profile
  18. Grey District Nursing ‘Meet and Greet’ discharge planning
  19. Theatre team excels in surgical safety checklist auditing
  20. West Coast General Practices achieve Cornerstone accreditation
  21. Team recruited to reduce pressure injuries
  22. National patient experience survey results
  23. Raising healthy West Coast kids
  24. Hand hygiene plays an important part in patient safety
  25. West Coast DHB tests emergency readiness
  26. Red tray introduced to assist patients at meal times
  27. We want your feedback

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Page last updated: 28 October 2022

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