Health NZ – Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley

24/07/2025

Nurses, healthcare assistants and some midwives at public hospitals and health services are planning to strike for 24 hours, from 9am on Wednesday 30 July to 9am on Thursday 31 July.

Patient safety will be our priority:

✅ Anyone in hospital will get the care and support they need.
✅ Our hospitals and emergency departments will stay open.
✅ Maternity services for women in labour, inpatient and birth services will continue.
✅ Visiting hours will stay the same.
✅ To maintain patient safety, most clinics will be closed, and appointments will need to be rescheduled.
✅ If you have an appointment on the day of the strike, come to your appointment unless we have contacted you directly.
✅ Any appointments that are deferred will be rescheduled for the next available time.
✅ Anyone needing it will receive emergency care.

We value the hard work and dedication of our staff. To find out more, visit: tewhatuora.govt.nz/industrial-action

22/07/2025

Unsure about your health or someone in your family unwell? Don’t have a GP or can’t get to one? Want advice about your medicine?

Call Healthline on 0800 611 116 for free over-the-phone health advice from an experienced nurse or paramedic - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The team is happy to help, even with small concerns. Don’t wait for things to get worse.

When you call:
• you can use your mobile to share images and video to help the team help you
• you can choose to speak with a Māori clinician if calling between 8am and 8pm
• interpreters are available if you’d like to talk in your own language
• NZ Relay support is available for callers who are deaf, hearing impaired, deafblind or speech impaired.

If you don’t need help or advice straight away, you can ask Healthline to call you. To do this, go to healthy.org.nz, click ‘request a call back’, enter a few details and a Healthline nurse or paramedic will call you back.

21/07/2025

What an amazing effort 👏👏💛 Well done Jacob and the Manawa Ora Hospital Orchestra and Choir.

15/07/2025

During winter when it’s colder, the days are shorter and there’s a lot of sickness around, we can sometimes feel a bit down.

But you don’t have to go it alone. Free mental well-being support is available to help you get back on track.

The Access and Choice programme can connect you with a provider. Many services are at GP clinics where you’ll need to be an enrolled patient, but there are also Kaupapa Māori, Pacific-led and youth services you can access directly. Go to http://spr.ly/618544hH9 to find the service that best meets your needs.

If there’s no Access and Choice provider near you, talk to your GP. Or, find additional services through Healthpoint at http://spr.ly/618644hHi or the Mental Health Foundation at http://spr.ly/618744hHc

13/07/2025

🧬 Wondering if you're immune to measles? Here's how to find out. 👇🏽

If you were born or lived in NZ before 1969 you are likely immune to measles. This is because before this time there were no measles vaccines. Most people were infected with measles during childhood. If this isn’t you, there are several other ways to check your measles immunity:

✅ Ask your doctor – They may have records of your immunisations or blood test results. You can also check your online patient portal (like Manage My Health or My Indici).

✅ Check My Health Record – This secure site holds immunisation records from 2005 onwards. You can request a copy or ask your doctor to update it.

✅ Check your Well Child or Plunket book.

✅ Call your local lab – If you've had a measles immunity test before, you can request a free printed copy of your results.

✅ Contact travel clinics or overseas providers – if you were immunised abroad or through a travel clinic, ask for your records.

Not sure what your records mean? Talk to your healthcare provider to confirm your immunity. If you can’t find any records, get immunised. It is safe to have another dose of the vaccine even if you are immune.

Try our helpful immunity checker tool: https://info.health.nz/conditions-treatments/infectious-diseases/about-measles/measles-immunity -to-find-medical-records-to-check-your-immunity-5745

10/07/2025

Initiatives at Hutt Hospital are leading to improvements in Emergency Department (ED) wait times and patient care.

Key improvements at Hutt Hospital include nearly a third less plastic surgery patients attending the ED over the past 12 months, thanks to the new Hands and Plastic Injuries initiative which redirects patients from the Emergency Department to the Plastic Surgery Outpatient Department.

Often these patients can then undergo minor procedures in the procedure suite, under local anaesthetic, freeing up acute capacity in our main theatres. This has helped lead to a 16% decrease in acute inpatient admissions for hand injury patients at the hospital in the last 12 months.

The procedure suite at Hutt Hospital now also performs carpal tunnel operations for residents of Hutt Valley, Wellington, and Wairarapa, easing pressure across the regional health system and has completed around 150 of these procedures in the last 12 months, freeing up theatre time for more complex surgical procedures. Well done to all our teams for making such a difference. 👏 👍 🎉

09/07/2025

Measles cases in the Wairarapa, find out more 👇🏾

Measles cases confirmed in Wairarapa

Four cases of measles have been confirmed in the Wairarapa region. Measles can spread quickly, especially among those who aren’t immunised.

Symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, sore red eyes, followed by a rash.

If you or your whānau have symptoms, stay home and call your GP/health provider or Healthline on 0800 611 116.

Your best protection against measles is immunisation. It's not too late to catch up if you haven't been immunised or haven't had two doses. The MMR vaccine is free for most people and protects against measles, mumps, and rubella. Check your immunisation status today.

https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/corporate-information/news-and-updates/three-measles-cases-in-wairarapa-linked-to-overseas-travel

https://info.health.nz/conditions-treatments/infectious-diseases/about-measles/measles

30/06/2025

Construction is officially underway on the new Sir Mark Dunajtschik Mental Health Centre in Lower Hutt!

Health Minister Simeon Brown, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey, and Hutt South MP Chris Bishop marked the milestone with a sod-turning ceremony last week.

The Ministers expressed their gratitude to Sir Mark Dunajtschik for his extraordinary $50 million donation — a generous contribution that will enhance mental health care across the Wellington region. Health New Zealand adds its heartfelt thanks for this remarkable gift.

This purpose-built, 34-bed facility will provide safe, therapeutic, and culturally appropriate care for patients, staff, and whānau.

Read more on the project at: http://spr.ly/61854cdKF

18/06/2025

We love our volunteers. Thank you

09/06/2025

Come and talk about rural health with Hon Matt Doocey, Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Rural Health and Minister for Mental Health.

Minister Doocey will be accompanied by Hon Mark Patterson, Minister for Rural Communities and Associate Minister for Agriculture, and Dr Grant Davidson, CEO of Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network.

The engagement session will take place at 1:00pm on Thursday 12 June, at Fieldays Hauora Taiwhenua Health & Wellbeing Hub. Check their website https://www.fieldays.co.nz/attend-fieldays/explore/health-and-wellbeing

09/06/2025

Come along to our free cervical screening clinic at Wellington Hospital - the Women’s Clinic on level 3 of the main building - this Saturday 14 June between 8am to 1pm.

The new cervical screening self-test can be used and it’s a game-changer! It keeps your privates private so you don’t feel whakamā (shame).

Cervical screening is for eligible wāhine and people with a cervix aged 25-69. If you can’t remember when you were last screened, you could be due so please consider getting it done - it could save your life.

Get in touch to check your eligibility and book in for your free test by texting/phoning Tracey or Rashika on 027 310 7643 or Freephone 0800 729 729 (bookings are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome).

05/06/2025

Exciting news! Last week, Health Minister Simeon Brown and Minister of Finance Nicola Willis visited Wellington Regional Hospital to announce a Budget 2025 boost of $1 billion for hospital infrastructure investment.

This funding will enable a major upgrade, with a new Wellington Emergency Department (ED) and 126 additional beds and treatment spaces, to be delivered 🛏️ ⭐ Check out the early artist’s impression of a new patient space below!

The work means we will be relocating and expanding the ED, as well as expanding our adult inpatient beds and a range of acute services including the Medical Assessment & Planning, Surgical Assessment & Planning and Intensive Care units. We're delighted this ongoing work has been funded so we can deliver exceptional spaces and services for our patients, communities and staff.

This is a great development for healthcare in our district and for our people and communities!
See the full story: http://spr.ly/61844D972 and the Ministerial media release: http://spr.ly/61854D97N