Hawke’s Bay DHB revised Alert Level 2 visitor policy

12 Aug 2020, 13:39

Under Alert Level 2, which again came into force at 12 noon today (12 August), Hawke’s Bay DHB has revised its visitor policy and implemented a no-visitor policy for high risk areas of Hawke’s Bay Hospital. 

This will mean only with exceptions granted by the Clinical Nurse Managers or shift coordinator of the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Special Care Baby Unit and Mental Health Inpatient Units can people bring a support person with them. 

One support person for the duration of a woman’s length of hospital stay and one named visitor, but no children please to Hawke’s Bay Hospital’s Maternity Unit.  Click here for more info on maternity visiting.  

In other hospital areas and rural facilities, it will be one visitor at a time, but more than one person will be able to visit during the day, but each person can only visit once a day. 

Under Alert Level 2 the Ministry of Health has advised the use of masks where a one metre physical distance cannot be maintained.  Visitors will be asked to wear a facemask, that will be provided, as they enter the hospital. 

Chief Medical and Dental Officer Robin Whyman said visiting hours of between 1pm-8pm would be strictly enforced. Security guards at the main entrance to Hawke’s Bay Hospital and other DHB inpatient medical facilities would be asked to scan the COVID tracer app or their phone numbers would be collected in case there was a need for contact tracing. 

Hawke’s Bay Hospital’s café, Zacs, will be closed to the public, however the hospital chapel will remain open but limit the number of people inside. 

For people coming to a DHB facility for an outpatient, radiology, or laboratory appointment, they should come alone unless they have been advised to bring someone with them.  The exception is if someone was accompanying a child or has a disability. 

Dr Whyman said many outpatient waiting areas of the hospital were physically constrained and couldn’t physically enable social distancing of more than one metre if everyone attending clinics brought someone with them. 

This visitor policy will help ensure the on-going safety of vulnerable patients and ensure effective contact tracing could be done if required, he said. 

Patients can still use DHB owned iPad to video call family members from a bedside stand using the DHB’s free Wi-Fi if they wished to virtually visit family who lived out of the region or overseas, he said.

Dr Whyman said it was vitally important that no one visited a patient in hospital if they were unwell. Visitors should follow social distancing rules and make sure their hands were thoroughly washed or cleaned with alcohol gel before and after visiting.