Southern District Health Board

Visiting Hours are 2.00pm-8.00pm daily at Southland Hospital

The medical, surgical, rehabilitation, maternity and neonatal wards all have 2.00pm-8.00pm daily visiting hours. These hours apply to immediate family and whanau, extended family and friends of the patient. The following areas have dedicated visiting hours, as follows:

• The Critical Care Unit allows immediate family only to visit at all times, but there is a no visiting period between 2pm-4pm.
• The Inpatient Mental Health Unit has two weekday visiting periods: 12.00pm-1.00pm and 4.00pm-8.00pm. During weekends, visiting hours are between 9.00am-8.00pm.
• The Children's Ward allows parents/caregivers to visit at all times. Friends and other relative visiting hours are 2pm-8pm daily.

We ask that patients have a limited number of visitors at a time and to please avoid meal times at 5.00pm-6.00pm.  Southland Hospital is a smokefree site - this includes all buildings, carpark and garden areas. If you wish to smoke you must go on to the street to do so.

About Our Visiting Hours

The dedicated hospital visiting hours are in place to support the provision of safe and effective health care to all patients, whilst also allowing visitors to spend quality time with their family or friend in hospital.

Mornings at Southland Hospital are a busy time diagnostically, with many patients going to other departments for tests and assessments. Doctors' rounds also take place during this time and it is important that the clinician can spend dedicated assessment time with their patients.  The afternoon visiting hours of 2pm-8pm allow for the morning activity to be carried out undisturbed and also provide appropriate rest periods, which are critical for patient recuperation.

There are exceptions to the visiting hours for patients who are seriously ill or who have other extenuating circumstances. In this situations, please make visiting arrangements in discussion with the clinical nurse leader.

Inpatient Telephone Enquiries

For telephone enquiries regarding patient ward location, the Southland Hospital switchboard can assist on (03) 218 1949. Please note that patients have the right to privacy and if they have requested that no information be released (including confirmation of their admission to hospital) then we will follow their request.

Telephone calls into ward or clinical areas are limited to emergency or urgent matters by immediate family members. Regrettably, it is not possible for clinical staff to field non-urgent telephone queries and messages.