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

Coast pertussis cases on the rise

Friday 9 March 2018Media release3 minutes to read

Pregnant women and babies under one need to be vaccinated against pertussis (whooping cough), Medical Officer of Health Dr Cheryl Brunton says.

“There is a national epidemic of pertussis and the number of cases on the Coast is beginning to rise.  Babies and children under the age of one are most at risk of serious illness and complications from pertussis,” she says.

“On time vaccination of babies and children against pertussis is their best protection against the disease.  The vaccine is safe and free for pregnant women and can protect their babies until they are old enough to be vaccinated”

In February, six cases of pertussis were notified to community and Public Health: Five cases in Buller and one in Grey district.  In the week ending 2 March, there were two cases in Buller, one in Grey and one in Westland.

Pertussis (whooping cough) is a highly infectious disease that is spread by coughing and sneezing. It's caused by bacteria which damage the breathing tubes.

The symptoms usually appear around a week after infection.  Pertussis tends to develop in 3 stages: 

Initial stage (catarrhal stage), symptoms include:

  • a runny nose
  • sneezing
  • slight fever
  • a mild irritating cough
  • feeling generally unwell

This stage is when you're most infectious. It lasts 1 or 2 weeks.

Second stage (paroxysmal stage):

  • Coughing fits (paroxysms) are the main symptom in this stage. A paroxysm is a spasm of coughing followed by a big breath in or high-pitched ‘whoop' in children. Babies and adults generally don't have the high-pitched ‘whoop'.
    • Intense bouts of coughing, which bring up thick phlegm
    • a ‘whoop' sound with each sharp intake of breath after coughing
    • vomiting after coughing, especially in infants and young children
    • tiredness and redness in the face from the effort of coughing
    • Babies and young children often appear very ill, and may turn blue and vomit from coughing so much.

This stage usually lasts 2 to 3 weeks but can persist for up to 10 weeks.

Third stage (recovery stage):

During this stage, the cough gradually gets better. After several weeks the cough disappears. However, for months you may still get coughing fits whenever you get a respiratory infection like a cold.

See your doctor if you think you or a family member may have pertussis (whooping cough), particularly if they:

  • have prolonged coughing spasms
  • turn blue while coughing
  • cough with a whooping sound
  • are un-vaccinated

You should seek immediate medical advice if:

  • you have a baby of 6 months or younger who appears to be very ill
  • you (or your child) appear to be experiencing significant breathing difficulties such as extended periods of breathlessness
  • you (or your child) develop serious complications, such as seizures (fits) or pneumonia, an infection that causes inflammation of the tissues in your lungs

Babies under the age of one who get pertussis are more likely to become seriously ill and need hospital treatment.

ends

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Page last updated: 17 April 2019

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