Senior doctors and dentists at Health NZ public hospitals and health services plan to strike for 48 hours on Tuesday 23 September and Wednesday 24 September.
Emergency departments will be open for emergencies only.
GPs, after-hours and urgent care clinics, and other community health providers are not affected by the strikes and will continue to operate as normal.
The Canterbury neonatal service provides special and intensive care for all pēpi (babies) born in the wider Canterbury region. This region extends to Timaru in the South, Greymouth in the west and Kaikoura in the north.
To contact the Matatiki neonatal service, call 03 364 4699external link
The Matataki neonatal service is at:
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
4th Floor
Christchurch Women’s Hospital
Riccarton Avenue
Christchurch
We are open 24 hours for parents to visit.
For privacy reasons you will be asked to wear headphones during the medical round and nursing handovers.
Children should not visit if they have been in contact with anyone who has recently had an infectious disease such as:
Notify staff if you have a child who has been exposed to any of these infections.
If you as parents are unwell, discuss this with the nursing staff. We may ask you to see your healthcare provider to diagnose or confirm illness before you can return.
Non-immunised siblings of pēpi should not visit if they have any symptoms of any sort.
Our visiting hours are 3pm to 8pm. We recommend no more than 3 people per whānau visiting at a time. Visitors must be with a parent.
We do not allow visits from children under 12 years old, unless they are a sibling.
You should not visit if you have a cold, flu or tummy bug, or other infection.
Parents and caregivers may use shared laundry facilities for personal items if their pēpi is not in isolation—otherwise, speak to your nurse. The washer and dryer are in an annex to the right at the start of the rooming-in corridor, with washing powder provided (bring your own if you need a specific type). Remove laundry promptly for others’ use. Open 8am to 8pm.
Located nearby the lifts as you enter the Neonatal Unit this room is for relatives to use while waiting to visit you and your pēpi.
The Neonatal Unit has 5 shared rooms for māmā to stay and care for their pēpi. We encourage mothers to stay 2 to 3 days before baby’s discharge to build confidence in care. Priority is given to breastfeeding mothers, who are no longer in-patients themselves and those with pēpi requiring complex care, for example, home oxygen or tube feeding. If rooms are available after these priorities, charge nurses may offer a 48-hour “mum time” stay to increase involvement in care. To be considered, ask your nurse to add you to the list.
Another lounge with kitchen facilities is available for parents only – no visitors or children are permitted in this area. A number of resources are also available within the lounge area for you to access.
Coffee mornings as well as some group educational sessions may also be held in this area from time to time — these will be advertised.
Are available to use to store your belongings while you are visiting your pēpi in NICU — ask at reception if you require a key.
These are available for families to use while their pēpi is in NICU. The idea of these boards is for families to leave messages for staff to help with the care of their pēpi. If your pēpi does not have one near their cot, ask the staff for one.
There are several microwaves available throughout the unit for you to sterilise your breast-feeding equipment. The nurses caring for your baby will show you where these are and how to use them.
Free public Wi-Fi internet access is available in Christchurch Hospital. Follow the five steps below to connect any wireless device to our free Wi-Fi.
Sites and content deemed inappropriate will be blocked when using the service. It will not be possible to download material like movies due to file size.
Being in the Neonatal Unit with your pēpi/baby can be a stressful and disorienting experience. Chaplains are available to support you during this time. Spiritual support is likely to be of benefit whether you are religious or if you belong to a church, temple, synagogue, mosque, or other practice.
Chaplains can assist by:
The hospital chaplains have been theologically and clinically trained and licenced to work in a hospital. The chaplaincy team offers confidential compassionate support, prayer, and a listening ear:
They are available for prayer and church sacraments. The chaplains are available to people of all faiths and no faith, and are here to support people of all religions and cultures. They can also contact your own religious or spiritual advisor and ask them to visit, for example, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist.
Your nurse, social worker, ward clerk or doctor can arrange for a chaplain to visit you, or you can ask to speak with a chaplain when you see them in the ward.
Chaplains are available office hours on site Monday to Friday and after hours for emergencies through the operator for the on-call chaplain.
Hospital chaplains provide appropriate blessing rituals for patients, their families and staff. This includes blessing rooms after death, equipment, wards, and workplaces.
The Chapel is located on the ground floor of Christchurch Hospital in Parkside
In some circumstance’s parents may be accommodated in Waipapa on the 7th floor. There are 3 emergency accommodation rooms located there along with a communal parent lounge, laundry and kitchen facilities as pictured below. This is serviced by Ronald McDonald House volunteers. This is a parent only area.
We provide intensive care for newborn pēpi. We also provide surgery for all babies in the South Island (except Nelson).
Our service has 44 cots, 12 for intensive care and 32 for special care.
An introduction to the neonatal unit — Vimeoexternal link
Canterbury neonatal service information leaflets for parents — Health NZexternal link
We care for pēpi in intensive care if they need:
Special care or level 2 care is for pēpi who can breathe themselves but may need input from our multi-disciplinary team. We provide:
We provide parent rooms and meals for when babies are close to discharge. We aim for all parents to room with their baby for at least one night.
We have a 24 hour service to transport babies to and from our tertiary referral centre in Christchurch. For emergencies in a home setting an ambulance is called first.
The transport team picks up babies from Kaikoura to the West Coast and down to Timaru. We transport babies from everywhere in the South Island, except Nelson, for surgical services.
We have 2 whānau lounges with seating. You can stay in these lounges while you wait to see your baby.
Feeding my baby — Vimeoexternal link
NICU microwave sterilising — Vimeoexternal link
NICU washing sterilising — Vimeoexternal link
We provide a multidisciplinary team approach to breastfeeding and pēpi feeding.
The clinical nurse specialist supports staff and whānau in breastfeeding education and clinical matters.
Monitors breastfeeding initiative standards around the 10 steps to successful breastfeeding, the non-breastfeeding mother, the international code of marketing and subsequent resolution, and the Treaty of Waitangi.
Clinical expertise in breastfeeding and supports colleagues in clinical breast feeding skills
Assesses babies for neurodevelopmental issues related to feeding, sucking and swallowing.
Assesses sucking and swallowing of pēpi and implements a programme with staff and parents involved.
A nurse who works with pēpi who require significant ongoing input from the neonatal team and plays an important role in setting up specifically targeted programmes and support for discharge into the community (for example teaching home feeding via pump).
