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

West Coast first in New Zealand to receive accreditation to deliver remote medicine training

Friday 18 October 2024Health news3 minutes to read

Te Tai o Poutini West Coast is the first centre in New Zealand to receive accreditation to deliver Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) Training.

Receiving this accreditation is another important step in a 20-year journey towards becoming a ‘rural centre of excellence’ for training rural health professionals.

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora West Coast Chief Medical Officer Brendan Marshall says, this accreditation is “a real feather in the cap” for rural generalist teams on the Coast.

ACRRM is the first medical college in the world dedicated to rural and remote practice.

Receiving accreditation means that as well as being an accredited training location, the West Coast can continue to develop its rural generalist model. A model that is focused on ensuring we are using the workforces we have, attracting staff who are keen to upskill and helping us achieve a sustainable, integrated healthcare system. Most importantly, it puts primary care at the heart of our health system and supports our people to stay well.

“ACRRM trains 500 doctors a year. If even two or three of them thought they’d like to move to the Coast and train, then I’m confident the lifestyle and career opportunities here will hook them for life. It worked for at least one Aussie!!”

Dr Marshall’s passion to work rurally was spurred during high school, when there was a doctor shortage in his home state of Queensland. After completing his training there and working in several remote places, including the Northern Territory and Papua New Guinea Dr Marshall eventually settled in Greymouth in 2013 where he has been an advocate for rural generalism ever since.

“The Rural Generalist model is fundamentally about creating a robust and sustainable workforce that opens opportunities to train the next generation.”

“Young health professionals can move here to train and that’s the key to building a dedicated and long-term primary care workforce across all areas of healthcare, including emergency, obstetrics and mental health, which is vital to maintaining the community’s access to services.”

Incoming ACRRM Board Director Dr John Hall says Queensland was the first place in Australia that the rural generalist model was introduced, “this had a significant impact, and the number of rural doctors has since doubled”.

Dr Hall’s visit to Greymouth completes the formal accreditation process which will mean the West Coast can now provide training to doctors who want to complete their core generalist training in a rural environment.

The training programme focuses on the development of broad knowledge, skills and attributes in primary, secondary and emergency care in a rural and remote environment allowing doctors to gain Rural Generalist skills across these areas.

“Rural communities tend to stay in rural areas if they know they’ve got good healthcare, it’s great New Zealand is building up its rural healthcare services and we support their drive to train more rural generalists.”

 ENDS

Media contact: hnzmedia@tewhatuora.govt.nz

Photo: (L to R) Resident Medical Officer Dr Jordan Searle, West Coast Chief Medical Officer Dr Brendan Marshall and Incoming Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine Board Director Dr John Hall.

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Page last updated: 18 October 2024

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