HOSPITAL VISITING

Hospital visiting guidelines updated 16 September 2022: Hospital visitors must wear a surgical/medical paper mask. Fabric face coverings are not acceptable.  See our COVID-19 page for general COVID-19 advice, detailed hospital visiting guidelines and COVID-19 tests.

See www.vaccinatecanterburywestcoast.nz for info on vaccinations.

Last updated:
16 September 2022

Fewer visitor restrictions now apply

For visitors to all facilities effective from 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

Karamea Health Centre

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About Karamea Health Centre

Full-time rural nurse specialists provide everyday care for the Karamea community. We also hold GP clinics with visiting doctors every week.

Karamea Health Centre offers many of the services available at larger GP clinics. However, you may need to travel for some services.

The nearest pharmacy is Buller Pharmacy in Westport.

The nearest emergency department and X-ray facilities are at Buller Integrated Health Services in Westport. Emergency patients may travel by ambulance or helicopter to Westport, Greymouth, Nelson or Christchurch.

Location

Street address

21 Waverley Street
Karamea

Postal address

PO Box 43
Karamea 7893

Phone & Fax

Phone

Email

In an EMERGENCY: dial 111

After hours: Call your General Practice team. Your call will be answered 24/7 by a nurse who can advise you what to do and where to go, if you need urgent care.  More…

Enquiries and feedback

We welcome your feedback about our services and your experiences at Karamea Health Centre.

Note: We are unable to provide medical advice to people by email. Please contact your doctor or the person in charge of your medical care.

Open hours

Christmas / New Year hours:

Please note: Emergency services continue 24/7 throughout the Christmas/ New Year period

23 December 2022: Open 9am – Closing at 3pm.

24 December 2022: Clinical consults are arranged as normal via HML – after hours charges apply.

25 December 2022: Closed

26 & 27 December 2022: Clinical consults are arranged as normal via HML – after hours charges apply.

28 & 29 December 2022: Normal hours

30 December 2022: Open 9am – Closing at 3pm.

31 December 2022: Clinical consults are arranged as normal via HML – after hours charges apply.

1 January 2023: Closed

2 & 3 January 2023: Clinical consults are arranged as normal via HML – after hours charges apply.

4 January 2023 onwards: normal hours as per info just below is resumed for all clinics

Regular hours (outside the Christmas/New Year holiday period):

DayOpensCloses
Monday09:00am04:00pm
Tuesday09:00am04:00pm
Wednesday09:00am04:00pm
Thursday09:00am04:00pm
Friday09:00am04:00pm
Saturday03:00pm
(By appointment)		04:00pm
Sunday03:00pm
(By appointment)		04:00pm
Statutory
Holidays		03:00pm
(By appointment)		04:00pm

Appointments, Enrolments, Fees

Enrolments

If you are staying in Karamea for a while, we encourage you to enrol with the practice.

Enrolment is free, and means you can get cheaper healthcare when you need it.

GP Fees

A full list of fees is available for all West Coast DHB GP clinics including Karamea Health Centre.

Appointments

How to make an appointment

We ask all patients to book their appointment by calling or visiting the practice.

Karamea Health Centre facilities at a glance

Accessible

Smoke-free facility

Disabled & Visitor toilets

Visitor information reception

Page last updated: 19 December 2022

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