NZNO nurses, healthcare assistants and some midwives plan to strike from 9am on Wednesday 30 July to 9am on Thursday 31 July. Patient safety is our priority and our hospitals will remain open. Continue to attend all appointments unless we have contacted you directly to reschedule.
Timaru Hospital
Queen Street
Parkside
Timaru 7910
If your health emergency is not life threatening, but you cannot wait for an appointment with your usual doctor or healthcare provider, go to an after hours or urgent medical centre. They can help you with things like bad cuts, sprains or breaks, minor head injuries, or if you are feeling really sick. You do not need an appointment but might have to wait.
The Timaru Medical Centre after hours service is available for in-person medical care on weekends and public holidays (9am to 11:45am and 4pm to 5:45pm).
Timaru Medical Centre
45 Heaton Street
Timaru
Phone 03 684 8209.
Bring your Community Services Card and any current medication with you.
Timaru After Hours Medical Services — Healthpoint
General practices and urgent medical care in Timaru — Healthpoint
Call your general practice — your call will be redirected to the after hours service covering your general practice at that time.
General practices and urgent medical care in South Canterbury — Healthpoint
Call High Country Health on 03 435 0777 — the answerphone message has up-to-date instructions for after hours care.
General practices and urgent medical care in Twizel — Healthpoint
Call Fairlie Medical Centre on 03 685 8211 — the answerphone message has up-to-date instructions for after hours care.
General practices and urgent medical care in Fairlie — Healthpoint
Call your general practice — your call will be redirected to the after hours service covering your general practice at that time.
General practices and urgent medical care in Waimate — Healthpoint
Virtual doctor services often have appointments available on the same day. You do not need to be enrolled to use some of them. They are a good option if your usual doctor or nurse cannot fit you in.
These appointments usually take place through a video app or a phone call. There will be a cost.
Physical address:
Queen Street
Parkside
Timaru 7910
Mailing address:
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora South Canterbury
Private Bag 911
Timaru 7940
Phone: 03 687 2100
You and your whānau (family) may be eligible for or free or subsidised health services in South Canterbury.
Complete the following form or phone 03 687 2307 to find out what you are entitled to receive.
Enrol for Health Services form — Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora South Canterbury
Aotearoa New Zealand has a health system that provides most services for free (or subsidised) to eligible people.
If you do not qualify for free (government-paid) services, you will need to pay for your healthcare.
Guide to eligibility for public health services — Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
If you are eligible for publicly funded healthcare, you may be asked to provide evidence of this. To make sure we have the correct information, we recommend you bring your:
An interpreter service is available if you do not speak English — ask the nurse in charge of your care if this can be arranged.
To access your patient information, complete a release of personal health information request.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora has a broad privacy statement to inform you of how we handle personal and health information while you are in our care.
Privacy statement — Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
Timaru Hospital visiting hours are 2pm to 8pm, 7 days a week. Each patient is permitted 2 visitors at a time.
In rooms with more than 1 bed, the number of allowed visitors may be limited due to the available space. Visiting restrictions may also apply if there is increased risk of illness or outbreaks.
In most wards, the morning is reserved for treatments and doctors' rounds, and 12pm to 2pm is quiet rest time for all patients so visitors are not recommended.
There may be reasons you would like to visit outside of these hours. Special arrangements can be made with the charge nurse if you are visiting children, seriously ill or terminally ill patients.
Talk to the ward staff if you have questions about your visit.
The Hato Hone St John Health Shuttle is a community service that transports people to and from medical and health-related appointments.
The service is run by volunteers. A donation is greatly appreciated to help cover costs.
The health shuttle operates a service:
To make a booking for Hato Hone St John Health Shuttles (bookings close at 3pm on the day before travel):
Waka Ora Health Shuttles — Hato Hone St John
The National Travel Assistance Scheme helps people who need to travel long distances or travel frequently for health appointments.
Parking up to 120 minutes is available along Queen Street and in the car park near the main hospital entrance — there are 6 disability parking spaces.
There are also 2 car parking areas off Edward Street. Parking on High Street has no time limit.
Car parks are unsupervised. Vehicles are left at the owner’s risk.
There is a café at the main entrance of Timaru Hospital.
Opening hours: 7:30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday and 8am to 4pm, Saturday and Sunday.
The café is closed on public holidays.
You will find vending machines in the hospital main entrance foyer. Drinks facilities are available in waiting areas throughout the hospital.
Free wifi for patients and visitors is available — look for 'Hospital free wifi' in the wifi settings on your device.
A hospital chaplain is on call to offer support, counsel or sacramental ministry. Your personal beliefs, culture and privacy are always respected. The chaplain, or your own religious or spiritual leader, can be contacted at any time through your ward staff.
You will find the hospital chapel between the Clinical Services Block and the Gardens Block. It is open 24 hours for anyone to use.
Inward mail is delivered twice daily on weekdays. Flowers and parcels are delivered as they arrive.
Put outward mail in stamped envelopes and give it to your nurse or put it the post box outside the hospital main entrance.
There is a television in the patient lounge of each ward. You may bring your own radio, headphones and television by prior arrangement.
Any personal electrical items, for example, TV, radio, hairdryer or shaver, must be checked by staff before they can be used.
Hospital FM 88.1 is on air 24 hours, 7 days, with local broadcasts on evenings and weekends. Outside of these times, the radio station carries 'The Sound' programming. Requests can be made from within the hospital — phone 03 687 2299.
The whānau (family) room is at the rear of the hospital on level 2, just past the chapel and opposite the orderlies office. Follow the signs to the whānau room from level 1. Drinks facilities are available in waiting areas throughout the hospital.
Our hospital is a Smokefree environment and workplace. This means smoking is not allowed in any building or surrounding grounds.
Help, advice and nicotine replacement therapy is available if you want to stop smoking — just ask ward staff.
Stop smoking services — South Canterbury
A free independent advocacy service is available to ensure your rights as a patient are respected and to help you to resolve any complaints.
Understand your rights and know how to make a complaint.
While you are in hospital you may find it useful to have a support person with you. Our different departments ask you to follow these rules.
You may have a support person with you at any time during your inpatient stay — the person is known as a boarder and they:
Siblings are permitted within visiting hours.
You may have 1 birthing partner and 1 support person with you in the birthing suite.
Your partners (or nominated support person) is welcome, as a boarder, to support you in the entire induction process. As a boarder, they must follow maternity unit rules (see above).
Your partner is considered part of the mother/pēpi unit and is entitled, as parent of the child, to be present once birthed.
You may have 1 support person.
Children who accompany a parent, caregiver or sibling to an outpatient appointment are permitted if there is no alternative childcare available.
You may have 2 support persons only when you present to ED, if they are needed.
You may have 1 support person each time you attend for your care, provided we can maintain physical distancing.
Immediate whānau (family) only are allowed.
It helps to know what is expected of patients and what they can expect of us at the hospital. The key services for patient advocacy are the:
The Code and your rights: Ōu Mōtika — Health & Disability Commissioner
The Nationwide Health and Disability Advocacy Service (Advocacy Service)
Our policy of care posters are displayed throughout the hospital.
When you are a patient in our hospital we ask you to:
We support your right as a patient to be fully informed about your health situation and care. Ask for more information or question anything you do not understand.
We encourage the support of close whānau or a friend. We are happy to discuss how support people can be involved in your care.
If your tamariki (child) is a patient and you want to stay with them, discuss this with ward staff.
The hospital kaumatua liaison officer can be contacted by phone — call 03 687 2385.
It is important to practice good hygiene while in hospital. It helps everyone to stay safe from common infections.
Visitors should stay away if, in the last 48 hours, they have had:
Patients can borrow a phone on the ward to speak to anyone who is unwell and cannot visit.
If you are a visitor, wash your hands or use hand gel at the start of every visit and as you leave the bedside.
If an infection is suspected or identified, a patient may be cared for in isolation. Special precautions are needed when visiting an isolated patient — talk to staff if you have any questions.
Kōrero mai — Talk to Me is a service you can use in the hospital if you are concerned about a change:
We aim to discharge you by 11am on the day you leave Timaru Hospital. Having a support person can make this easier for you, by making the necessary travel or pick-up arrangements.
