Keeping our community safe: changes to Lakes District Hospital entrances from Wednesday 22 December

To keep Lakes District Hospital in Queenstown safe for all the community, patients and visitors will notice a few changes to the hospital access from Wednesday 22 December:

• Access to the Emergency Department will be from the back entrance (ambulance entrance) on Lucas Place
• The entrance to the maternity ward will be around the side of the maternity unit at the front of the hospital

Patients visiting the hospital for other appointments including Outpatients clinics, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and X-Ray/ CT or visitors should continue to use the front door.

The new access to the Emergency Department means patients will no longer have to walk through the hospital to enter the Emergency Department. This will ensure patients who are attending ED who may have respiratory symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 do not come into contact with patients who are visiting other departments in the hospital.

The new access to the maternity ward will ensure the ward is separate from the rest of the hospital so maternity ward patients and their visitors will no longer need to walk through the hospital.

“There is COVID already in the community in other parts of the country and with the opening up of Auckland we are anticipating an increase in visitor numbers to the district, and subsequently to the hospital. These changes are being put in place to keep everyone as safe as possible,” says Lakes District Hospital Operations Manager, Emily Nelson.

“We screen all visitors and patients who enter the hospital for COVID-19 and although this is stringent, it can never be watertight so these changes ensure an added layer of protection for our patients, visitors and staff. We apologise for any inconvenience, but we hope the public will understand the reason for the changes.”

Key information for patients and visitors:

Entry to the Hospital
ED patients: All access to the Emergency Department will be from the BACK ENTRANCE on LUCAS PLACE from Monday 20 December.

• This entrance is the ambulance entrance across from the airport. Please drive to the back entrance where there will be a 10 minute drop off zone
• Some parking is available in this area for parents of young children and for people with disabilities only
• After dropping off the public are asked to exit the area and park their car in the Douglas Street car park
• Access to the Emergency Department from the Douglas Street car park will be around the side of the building to the back of the hospital and will be signposted
• Please do not walk through the front doors to the hospital if you are accessing the Emergency Department.

Entry to the Maternity Ward

• The entrance to the maternity ward will be around the side of the building at the front of the hospital so maternity ward patients and their visitors will no longer need to walk through the hospital
• Please park in the Douglas Street car park and follow the signs to the Maternity Ward entrance
• Please do not walk through the front doors to the hospital if you are accessing the Maternity Ward.

Non ED patients: All access through the front doors as is current practice
If you are visiting the hospital for non-Emergency reasons such as outpatient clinics, radiology or physiotherapy, in other parts of the hospital, please present to the front of the hospital and undertake the screening as normal. Please remember:

• All visitors and patients are required to wear masks. This must be worn prior to engaging with security and entry to hospital and during your visit.
• Visitors are also required to scan in using the COVID tracer App (paper sign in is also available) practice hand hygiene and stay home if they are sick.

COVID pre-flight swabs
These are not available at Lakes District Hospital. If you require this service, please see your GP.

Access to Lake Wakatipu Care Centre
There is no access to Lake Wakatipu Care Centre from the hospital. You need to access directly through the side door to the Care Centre.

For more information email: communications@southerndhb.govt.nz