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

Transgender

8 documents.

Transgender – Official Information Act Request Response

Follow-up to OIA 9652 re Transgender or gender diverse discrimination complaints to DHB.

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More informationDownload pdf (955 KB)

Transgender – Official Information Act Request Response

How many people have complained regarding discrimination for being transgender or gender diverse when seeking health services on the West Coast?
Have any complaints been resolved and has any changes been made to improve services?
If not, are there any plans to improve health services with things staff training, or improving access to gender affirming healthcare in the future?

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More informationDownload pdf (212 KB)

Gender, hormone, transgender – Official Information Act Request Response

1. How many people were referred to the DHB for gender reassignment hormone therapy in each calendar year since 2006 until the present time?
2. What was the breakdown of ages in each of those years (youngest/oldest/median age)?
3. How many were transitioning male to female and how many female to male in each of those years?
4. How many children were referred for puberty blocking drugs in each calendar year since 2006?
5. How many people had psychological treatment for gender dysphoria in each calendar year since 2006?
6. How many people had double mastectomies (top surgery) as treatment for gender dysphoria in each calendar year since 2006?
7. What was the breakdown of ages in each of those years?

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More informationDownload pdf (280 KB)

Healthcare for transgender people

RE Official information request WCDHB 9472

I refer to your email dated 10 September 2020 requesting the following information under the Official Information Act from West Coast DHB. Specifically:

1. Of the following list of services, which (if any) does the District Health Board provide? Does the DHB provide any services for transgender health care not listed, if so, what?
– Puberty blockers
– Hormone replacement therapy
– Fertility preservation
– Mastectomy
– Hysterectomy
– Orchiectomy
– Facial hair removal
– Breast augmentation
– Voice training
– Facial feminization surgery
– Genital reconstruction surgery
– Counselling
– Other mental health support (please specify services in response)

For services provided by the DHB:

2. What is their current status? What clinic (or clinics) provides the service? Are they accepting new patients?

3. Broken down by provided services (and initial consultation and readiness assessments or other if applicable), how long is the current wait time on appointments for transgender health? How long have these wait times been in previous years that the service was available?

For questions 4.-17.  Please see Full Description…

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More informationDownload pdf (447 KB)

Mental Health, transgender, beds information request

*Number of mental health inpatient facility beds at DHB by name of facility.

*Number of people admitted as mental health inpatients who identify as transgender or gender diverse in the last 12 months.

*total number of people admitted as mental health inpatients in the last 12 months

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More informationDownload pdf (245 KB)

Last 3 years: number of women who have undergone gender affirmation surgery who have given birth as a man after the surgery?

RE Official Information Act request WCDHB 9337

I refer to your email dated 9 August 2019 to Department of Internal Affairs which they subsequently transferred to us on 16 August 2019 requesting the following information under the Official Information Act from West Coast DHB. Specifically:

  • All information from the last three years (2016/2017, 2017/2018, and 2018/2019) regarding the number of women in New Zealand who have undergone gender affirmation surgery and have delivered a baby, as a man, after the gender reaffirmation surgery.

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More informationDownload pdf (717 KB)

How many intersex children have had genital surgery within their first year of life between 2000 and 2018?

RE Official Information Act request WCDHB 9303

I refer to your email dated 26 April 2019 requesting the following information under the Official Information Act from West Coast DHB regarding Intersex babies having genital surgery. Specifically:

1. Data on how many intersex children have had genital surgery within their first year of life between 2000 and 2018 broken down by year, whether or not the surgery was medically necessary or whether it was cosmetic, gender of child as recorded on their birth certificate and the total cost per year of the surgeries (Can I please have this information in the form of an Excel spreadsheet)

2. Information (including but not limited to internal communications, memos, meeting minutes, briefing notes, letters, communications with external stakeholders) about policies/procedures relating to intersex people’s health care received by the DHB and published by the DHB between January 2017 and today April 26 2019
West Coast DHB has neither received nor published any information, policies or procedures in regard to intersex people’s health care between 1 January 2017 and 26 April 2018. 9(2)(a)

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More informationDownload pdf (788 KB)

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Page last updated: 24 February 2023

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