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

Remuneration of RMOs, SMOs and staff for work carried out because of strike actions 2019

RE Official Information Act request WCDHB 9295

I refer to your email dated 8 March 2019 requesting the following information under the Official Information Act from West Coast DHB in relation to the Resident Medical Officer (RMO) strikes that have taken place 15 January 2019 to 17 January 2019, 29 January 2019 to 31 January 2019, 12

February 2019 to 14 February 2019 and 26 February 2019 to 28 February 2019. Specifically:

1.       Any remuneration, including but not limited to incentives, of RMOs, Senior Medical Officers and any other employee for work carried out as a result of the strike actions.

Payments made by West Coast DHB for work carried out as a result of the strike action are: Additional payment for RMO strike cover – $10,640.00

2.       Any ancillary costs incurred by the DHB as a result of the strike action including, but not limited to, meals provided, taxi chits and/or alternative days off.

 

West Coast DHB did not incur any ancillary costs as a result of the strike action

3.       Further to item (1) above, detail of all costs associated with and time spent by any other staff such as administrators, payroll staff and managers undertaking tasks resulting from the strike action including, but not limited to, rescheduling of patients, contingency planning, calculating pay alterations as a result of strike action, drafting communication with the public and other staff regarding the strike.

Tasks undertaken by other West Coast DHB employees, such as administrators, payroll staff and managers, resulting from the strike action form part of that employees’ normal duties and time spent on, or costs associated with, such tasks are not separately recorded or held by West Coast DHB. Accordingly this part of your request is refused under section 18(g) of the Official Information Act as we the information requested does not exist.

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Page last updated: 7 May 2019

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