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Waikato Hospital Visiting hours confirmed after trial
Waikato Hospital Visiting hours confirmed after trial
Visiting hours at Waikato Hospital will remain from 11am-1.30pm and 4pm-8pm following a four-month trial period.
Waikato District Health Board director of nursing and midwifery Sue Hayward confirmed the times today and released details of other visiting rules developed with clinicians and security.
All gang regalia, patches or gang colours must now be removed within all Waikato DHB hospitals.
Security manager Dean Ria said over the last three weeks, security staff asked 25 people to remove gang regalia and all did willingly.
“This has been at a time when we’ve had both Black Power and Mongrel Mob members at Waikato Hospital visiting fellow gang members. Nursing staff have been very appreciative of the rule which allows them to do their jobs without intimidation,” said Mr Ria.
He also welcomed confirmation of visiting times.
“We love the hours – it gives us real clarity and guidelines. The public seem to love it too.”
Security will also clamp down on unauthorised business visitors and hawkers to the sites.
Mrs Hayward said she was working with individual wards around “exceptions” to the visiting times particularly around the lunchtime visiting option or for those visitors who had come a long distance.
“We are a tertiary provider of hospital and health services and some people come from as far away as Gisborne and New Plymouth so we need to be flexible in such instances.”
The only other outstanding issue arising out of the trial came with the lunchtime visiting option.
“Some wards would prefer this to go while others want it as families offer support for feeding. Our view is that if patients are requiring support, such as this, then this is separate to visiting hours and is part of the care plan made with the family,” said Mrs Hayward.
"I'm signalling now this is something we will work with the wards on in the next 12 months. This time period may eventually go as well."
ENDS
Waikato District Health Board
Healthy People. Excellent Care
Waikato District Health Board (DHB) employs over 6500 people and plans, funds and provides hospital and health services to more than 391,770 people in a region covering eight per cent of New Zealand.
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