Canterbury DHB is continuing to reschedule appointments, based on clinical priority, that were postponed as the country went into lockdown.  

Chief Medical Officer Dr Sue Nightingale says “at Alert Level 2 the risk from COVID-19 is greatly reduced and we have resumed many of our services with additional strict precautions to keep everybody safe.”

“Now we are confident that we can provide care without exposing people to the risk of getting COVID-19 in our facilities, we want to get back on track with people’s care plans as soon as we can – but as we make new appointments for you, we really need you to attend and allow us to pick up where we left off with your care without further delay.”

“For some people the way we provide that care has changed, so that they can still receive care when and where they need it. More consultations will occur over the phone or by video link for example, to avoid unnecessary person-to-person contact.”

“However, there are many circumstances when we do need to see you in person – for some time to come we will only make that kind of appointment where it’s essential. When you do come to your appointment you will find that a few other things have changed too,” says Dr Nightingale.”

“To meet Alert Level 2 physical distancing requirements, we continue to restrict the number of visitors entering the premises and people who enter the hospital have their details recorded for contact tracing purposes.”