Update 23 March 2020 – We are no longer allowing visitors into our hospital. Please call us to discuss how to drop off and collect your loved one from surgery.

Updated 16 March 2020

Ormiston Hospital has taken the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic extremely seriously. We are taking every step we can inside of our Hospital to ensure both our staff and patients are safe.

During this pandemic we are going to be stricter with who we let come through our hospital doors. We are screening all patient admissions for COVID-19, please expect further questioning if you are coming into hospital. There are also changes to our hospital visitor policy and no one entering our hospital is exempt.

These actions will help us to ensure we continue to provide the safest care environment; updates to our visitor policies have been made and are strictly enforced.

Hospital visitor restrictions:

• STRICTLY two visitors per patient on the Ward
• Visiting hours are now 2pm – 8pm weekdays
• Visitors may be screened for flu-like symptoms, such as fever, cough or sore throat. Any visitor with signs of illness will be asked to kindly leave

We recognise the valuable role that family members and visitors play in the healing process and appreciate that these restrictions may cause challenges for our patients and their families. Thank you for your understanding and adherence to these policies as part of our continued efforts to keep our patients and staff protected and healthy during this time.

If you are staying overnight at Ormiston Hospital you may have up to two visitors per day. We are now tracking everyone who enters the Ward and your visitors will need to sign in.

We have always provided other means of communication for our patients, and we encourage you to make use of our complimentary Wi-Fi and telephones should you need to get in touch with family who cannot visit you during your stay with us.

What else is our Hospital doing to keep our staff and patients safe?

We are taking measures to ensure our environment is kept as safe as possible. All of Ormiston Hospital staff are required to undertake specialised COVID-19 training. Further to this we are following government guidelines, whereby, anyone who works at Ormiston Hospital and has been overseas is required to self-isolate. We have also asked all staff to self-isolate if they they have been exposed to a confirmed case to COVID-19 or are exhibiting any symptoms of illness.

Where possible, we are asking our staff to work from home, avoid public transport and busy places and postpone any nonessential overseas travel.

Our staff have always practised the highest standards of hygiene and will continue to be even more vigilant during this time. We are doing everything we can to support our staff during this difficult time.

What can you do?

Everyone can do a lot by washing their hands regularly and using an alcohol based hand sanitiser. Viruses are spread by people not practicing good respiratory hygiene. This means, covering your sneeze or cough, ideally with a tissue and then throwing that tissue away. Then by washing your hands immediately after. You may use your elbow if you do not have a tissue.

Ormiston Hospital has extremely high hand hygiene standards, and we are experts in keeping our hands properly clean. This means washing with soap and warm water for more than 20 seconds, drying thoroughly and ensuring the entire hand, each finger, and nails are kept clean.

The next most important thing that you can do is to keep yourself isolated (social distancing) if you are feeling unwell. We ask that you do not come to our hospital if you feel unwell for any reason.

We encourage people to get the influenza vaccine when it becomes available at your local GP office.

You can keep yourself informed by using the following websites for reliable information and updates on the pandemic:

• Ministry of Health https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus
• World Health Orgnisation https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

Please refer to our webpage on this for further information, or complete our questionnaire to determine whether it is safe for you to come to Ormiston Hospital.