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

Blood test services (Phlebotomy) have now relocated to the Community Services building

IMPORTANT

Latest relocation update for Greymouth Phlebotomy Services

Te Nīkau Hospital & Health Centre blood test services (phlebotomy) have now relocated to the Community Services building located at the south-western corner of the Te Nīkau campus.

Our blood test services team are now in their new location where they are co-located with our Greymouth COVID-19 vaccination and Sexual Health teams.

“This move was part of our COVID-19 response planning, which has included reviewing patient flow in and out of the Te Nīkau facility. As around 400 people access this service each week – an average of 80 people per day – it was decided to relocate the team instead of when we start to see COVID-19 cases on the Coast.”

Directions

If you are coming into the Te Nīkau Hospital and Health Centre campus off High Street turn left and follow the new signage around to the new location.

Alternatively, you can also access the campus via the Water Walk Road entrance opposite and just south of the St John building.

New location of Greymouth Phlebotomy Services

Open hours

Blood collection services: Weekdays 7:30am – 4:30pm; last patient seen at 4:15pm. Children 10 years and under require an appointment. Appointments are available Monday to Thursday between 9 and 11am. Please phone the Blood Test Service on 769-7400, Extension: 2507 to make an appointment.

Parking

Parking will be available outside the building.

Open hours

Greymouth – Community Services building located at the south-western corner of the Te Nīkau campus:

Opening hours for blood collection services are 7:30am – 4:30pm, with last patient seen at 4:15pm.
Children 10 years and under require an appointment.
Appointments are available Monday to Thursday between 9 and 11am.
Please phone the Blood Test Service on 769-7400, Extension: 2507 to make an appointment.

Laboratory open hours are 8am – 5pm weekdays. 

All other hours are on call via the operator.

Westport – Buller Health:

Appointments will be available between the following times:
Mon – Thu: 7:30am – 2:30pm

What happens at the lab?

Laboratory staff collect and test blood and other samples from patients when requested by a health care professional. A wide range of tests are available at Te Nīkau, Grey Hospital & Health Centre, and more tests are available through our partnership with Canterbury Health Laboratories in Christchurch.

To learn more about Pathology, visit the Know Pathology website.

Laboratory staff

Many different kinds of highly-trained staff work in the laboratory.

  • Phlebotomists are the people you are most likely to meet – professionals trained to collect your blood
  • Medical Laboratory Technicians and Scientists test samples in the laboratory
  • Pathologists are doctors of diseases and conditions, who interpret results
  • Medical Scientists give advice to your nurse, midwife, doctor or other health care professional

Contact our labs

Please refer to the side bar on this page for phone numbers and email address, or refer to contact details provided on our Contact us page.

All enquiries come to the main Lab reception number, from where messages will be forwarded to phlebotomy, if required

Page last updated: 12 March 2024

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