Waipuna Hospice moves to Alert Level Two

As you may be aware, the Bay of Plenty is now in Alert Level Two. We take the health and safety of our patients, visitors, and staff very seriously at Waipuna Hospice, so we are taking steps to ensure everyone’s wellbeing.

As the global pandemic continues and should the situation across our country change we want to reassure you that we are equipped to change levels quickly and efficiently if that is needed to ensure safety of our patients, family/whānau, staff and the wider community.

At Alert Level Two You Can Expect:

  • Face coverings will be mandatory when visiting Waipuna Hospice, our charity shops, and our Depot.
  • Our Day Programme will be cancelled until we return to level one.
  • Face to face and onsite support activities such as counselling and bereavement support groups will be postponed.
  • The opportunity for online/telemedicine consultations will be encouraged by our staff.
  • A new visitor policy for anyone wanting to visit our Inpatient Unit will be in place during level two. Please ring our IPU reception on 07 552 4380 before your visit.
  • Patients can only have up to one visitor/support person, at any time, and restrictions may apply to the daily number of visitors. Visiting hours will also be reduced to 10:00am – 7:00pm.
  • All visitors must sign in, go directly to the patient’s room, and maintain a physical distance of 2 metres from staff, and any other people who are on the Hospice site.
  • Our team will continue checking with patients to identify if they have been exposed to anyone known to have Covid-19, visited a high-risk area, or to be experiencing symptoms. If they have, our team will be required to wear full Personal Protective Equipment. At a minimum, our staff will always be wearing a mask.
  • Our staff to continue implementing strict infection control guidelines.
  • Our Charity Shops and Depot will reopen to the public while adhering to the government’s advice around social distancing, mask use, and sanitisation.
  • Some volunteer services will resume, however not all. Our volunteer team will be in direct contact with you regarding your volunteer role, but please call 07 552 4380 ext. 315 if you have any questions.
  • As per government advice, please continue to contact trace. Our Covid-19 Tracing App QR codes will remain displayed and we encourage you to either use those or sign in using the paper forms. We have developed a Visitor Tracing and Contact Details Form to make contact tracing even easier for our patients and their families/whānau.

We recognise that Covid-19 has created unique challenges for patients and their family/whānau and we would like to encourage you to access the services of our Family Support Team who offer social work, counselling, chaplaincy and cultural support.

For further information relating to the following Waipuna Hospice service or departments, please see below.

Waipuna Hospice Charity Shops and Donating Goods

At level two our Waipuna Hospice Charity shops and depot are open, however, things may look a little different and our opening hours may vary. Our Covid-19 Tracing App QR codes will remain displayed and we encourage you to either use those or sign in using the paper forms available. Sanitiser will also be available and we encourage and ask that you keep good hand hygiene. Social distancing is required – please keep two metres distance from people you don’t know. All of our incoming stock is either quarantined or sanitised before being sold. Face coverings are mandatory in our shops and Depot. Please call 07 552 4380 ext. 396 for the most up-to-date shop hours.

Hospice at Home

If our clinical staff are planning to visit you during Alert Level Two they will check in with you before a visit to clarify your circumstances, as well as identify if you have been exposed to anyone known to have COVID-19 or are experiencing symptoms. If they have, our team will be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment. This is to ensure we reduce any risks to our patient’s, their whānau, our staff, and the wider community.

We have also developed a Visitor Tracing and Contact Details Form. This form will help you record those people you have contact with so contact tracing can be initiated immediately by the Ministry of Health if a risk is identified. Our nurse will discuss this with you when they call.

Inpatient Care

Our Inpatient Unit (IPU) will continue to remain open during Alert Level Two and patients in IPU are welcome to have visitors, however, a new visitor policy for anyone wanting to visit our Inpatient Unit will be in place during level two. Please ring our IPU reception on 07 552 4380 before your visit. Some key changes include:

  • Patients can only have up to one visitor/support person, at any time, and restrictions may apply to the daily number of visitors.
  • Visiting hours have been reduced to 10:00am – 7:00pm.
  • All visitors must sign in, go directly to the patient’s room, and maintain a physical distance of 2 metres from staff, and any other people who are on the Hospice site.

As before COVID-19, we will be discouraging anyone experiencing symptoms of cold, flu, or anything contagious from visiting as protection for patients. As per government advice, we ask that all patients and visitors sign in and sanitise on arrival. If you are unwell we ask that you stay home. We believe this is an important step towards ensuring the safety of our vulnerable patients and the wider community.

Click here to read the new visitor policy

Patient and Family Support

Waipuna Hospice family support services will continue to operate in Alert Level Two, including face to face and onsite support activities such as counselling, however bereavement support groups will be postponed. You will be contacted by our staff before any on-site visit and asked a series of pre-screening questions. Masks will also be mandatory whilst visiting Waipuna Hospice. As per government advice, please continue to contact trace. Our Covid-19 Tracing App QR codes will remain displayed and we encourage you to either use those, or sign in using the paper forms.

If a member of our Family Support Team is planning to visit you during Alert Level Two they will check in with you before a visit to clarify your circumstances, as well as identify if you have been exposed to anyone known to have Covid-19 or are experiencing symptoms. This is to ensure we reduce any risks to our patient’s, their whānau, our staff, and the wider community. Our staff will be wearing a mask for your protection.

We have also developed a Visitor Tracing and Contact Details Form. This form will help you record those people you have contacted with, so contact tracing can be initiated immediately by the Ministry of Health if a risk is identified. A member of our Family Support team will discuss this with you when they call.

Our Day Programme will be cancelled during Level Two, and will resume at Alert Level One.

Education

Waipuna Hospice education services will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis during Alert Level Two. For those events that do go ahead, added precautions will be in place to ensure a safe environment. We will contact you prior to your education session with further information. Please be aware that our education series will be affected if alert levels escalate. We will provide updates as they develop.

If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to call us on 07 552 4380.