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

Dedicated group of nurses recruited to reduce pressure injuries

Wednesday 3 October 2018Media release3 minutes to read

Dedicated group of nurses recruited to reduce pressure injuries

Photo – left to right: Dr Nick Kendal (ACC – Treatment Safety Manager), Sean Bridges (ACC Senior Injury Prevention Specialist), Helen Pilcher (RN Med/Surgery), Tena Wilson (RN District), Rosalie Waghorn (Quality & Patient Safety Manager), Jo Tiller (Clinical Nurse Educator), Susan Wood (Quality Manager).

Canterbury and West Coast District Health Board has recruited the first group of Pressure Injury Prevention Link Nurses, as part of a broader strategy funded by the Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) to reduce the incidence and severity of pressure injuries across Canterbury and the West Coast.

Pressure injuries are commonly known as bed sores, pressure ulcers, pressure sores and decubitus ulcers, and are mostly preventable.

“Pressure injuries have a devastating impact, not only on patients, residents and their families but also on staff and the healthcare system as a whole,” says Dr Nick Kendall, ACC’s Treatment Safety Manager. “For some patients, pressure injuries can take months or even years to heal, causing pain, distress and major disruption to their lives and livelihoods. ACC is pleased to be working with the Canterbury and West Coast communities to make the prevention of pressure injuries a priority.”

Each year it is estimated 55,000 New Zealanders sustain a pressure injury, with 3,000 people developing a pressure injury so serious that muscle, bone or tendon maybe exposed. Pressure injuries cause physical pain and discomfort, result in admission to hospital, longer hospital stays and in some cases, can even lead to death. In addition, treatment of pressure injuries is estimated to cost NZ $694 million each year.

“Data indicates that many more people are admitted to hospitals already experiencing pressure injuries than develop them while in hospital,” says Susan Wood, Director of Quality and Patient Safety, Canterbury and West Coast DHBs. “While we need to prevent pressure injuries in our hospitals, we are also focusing on community prevention and raising awareness of the risk factors and management strategies to prevent pressure injuries in the community and all health care facilities.”

The newly recruited Pressure Injury Prevention Link Nurses will be trained to teach, promote, monitor/undertake surveillance, and motivate their healthcare colleagues to deliver best practice in the prevention and management of pressure injuries.

The Accident Compensation Corporation funds and supports this pressure injury prevention initiative that will:

  • empower patients and their families on how to prevent pressure injuries
  • refocus attention on the basics of care, which includes skin assessments, making sure people keep moving when lying or sitting, are eating well and keeping their skin clean and dry
  • refine and update pressure injury information across the community
  • support Link Nurses to become pressure injury prevention clinical leaders
  • establish an online forum for all health care professionals to come together to share ideas, resources, expertise and information to reduce the devastating impact of pressure injuries.

ENDS

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Page last updated: 6 May 2019

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