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

COVID-19 Alert Level 3 – access to healthcare and visitor restrictions on the Coast

Wednesday 1 September 2021Health news3 minutes to read

COVID-19 Alert Level 3 – access to healthcare and visitor restrictions on the Coast

Under COVID-19 Alert Level 3, visitor access to all West Coast DHB health facilities remains restricted to enable safe physical distancing.

Limiting our interactions with others outside our bubbles is one of our best defence against COVID-19. For this reason, a no visitor policy continues to apply across all West Coast DHB facilities, unless you are the nominated person as per the exceptions below.

Children under 16 and people who are unwell cannot visit under any circumstances, except to access emergency care.

Under Alert Level 3, the following visitor exceptions apply and a person may enter our facilities:

  • to visit a person receiving end-of-life care
  • to provide support to a person with a disability
  • to enable one parent/caregiver to visit a child who is in hospital
  • General Ward and Critical Care Unit – one nominated person from the patient’s bubble may visit once per day during visiting hours and be the only visitor for the duration of the patient’s stay
  • Maternity
    • one support person only to accompany someone presenting for acute assessment
    • women in labour in a maternity facility are allowed two support partners from their extended bubble for the duration of the labour and birth
    • for the duration of their postnatal stay a woman can have one named support person from her extended bubble.

Additional exceptions may be made on compassionate grounds at the discretion of the Duty Nurse Manager for the ward or service. Visitors will not be allowed in wards caring for patients in isolation.

Where these visits do take place, all visitors to health facilities are required to wear a mask or face-covering at all times, unless they have a physical or mental condition that makes them exempt.

Everyone entering any DHB facility will be screened prior to entry.

Please scan in using the QR code, wherever you go using the government’s COVID-19 Tracer App, and ensure Bluetooth is turned on within the app – this means you’ll receive alerts if you’ve been exposed to a case.

Elective surgeries and outpatient appointments

If your appointment or elective (planned) surgery was scheduled on Wednesday 1 September onwards please attend at the time originally advised, unless you have been contacted by us to advise that it has been rescheduled.

If your outpatient appointment or planned surgery was scheduled prior to 1 September, please wait for us to get in touch to advise of your rescheduled appointment.

Exception card for face coverings

We know that some people who have a disability or health condition may not be able to wear a face covering safely or comfortably. If you cannot wear one, you can get an exemption card. You can show your exemption card when needed, for example to a taxi driver. 

You can request a card from the Disabled Persons Assembly NZ by contacting them on 04 801 9100 or at info@dpa.org.nz

DHB Aged Residential Care facilities

The no visitors rule applies. However, family visits for palliative care residents who are receiving end-of-life care and do not have COVID-19 will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Cafés

PeaBerry, Te Nīkau Campus

Open for coffee and pre-packaged food

Monday to Friday – 09:00 to 14:00

ENDS

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Page last updated: 3 September 2021

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