Cancelled: Midwives' and nurses' strikes this Thursday 19 August
Strikes planned for 19 August by midwives and nurses have been cancelled in response to the Government's announcement that New Zealand will move into COVID-19 Alert Level 4 from 11:59 17 August.
If your appointment had been postponed because of the strikes, it is still postponed.
If you have an appointment and you haven't heard from us about a postponement, please attend your appointment as planned. There will be a separate notice on this website about what you need to do if you need to attend an appointment during Alert Level 4.
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COVID-19 vaccination update 11 August 2021
If you're aged 50 or over, or you're in groups 1, 2, or 3, you can book your vaccinations now, through the Book My Vaccine website, or through the freephone service: 0800 28 29 26.
The national vaccine rollout has been brought forward for other age groups as well:
- People aged 40 and over - 18 August
- People aged 30 and over - 25 August
- People aged 16 and over - 1 September
Locally, we are also able to make the vaccine available to younger age groups on occasion. This means that people in Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough who are younger than 50 are receiving text invites to make their booking using the code given to them in the message.
We are currently achieving 124% of our target as reported on the Ministry of Health website. We have around 12,500 vaccinations available each week.
To find out which group you are in, how to book your vaccine and where the vaccination clinics are, go to our main webpage here.
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Nelson Marlborough Health District Health Board Meeting 27 July 2021
Members of the public are welcome to attend the following Nelson Marlborough District Health Board meeting to be held:
- Tuesday 27 July 2021 at 12.30pm, Seminar Centre Room 1, Braemar Campus, Nelson Hospital
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Public health advice for people returning home after flood evacuations
The Nelson Marlborough Public Health Service has issued advice for people affected by flooding and severe weather on 16 and 17 July.
This includes how to ensure your drinking water is safe, how to prevent the spread of disease, sewerage disposal, food safety, feeding babies during an emergency and how to cope with stress and anxiety.
Boil water notices: As at 8am, Friday 23 July there are boil water notices in place for Wairau Valley and Awatere (rural water customers). Boil water notices for Brightwater, Hope, Eighty Eight Valley, Tapawera and Pōhara Valley have been lifted.
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Advance care planning: Let's talk with the 41 Club
On Tuesday 20 July, Advance Care Planning (ACP) facilitator Carla Arkless had a kōrero with the members and partners of the 41 Club. Below is feedback from the clubs organiser Alan Nimmo.
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RSV and other viruses: Please do not visit patients in hospital if you are unwell
Nelson Marlborough, like other regions in New Zealand, is experiencing an increase in respiratory illness amongst pre-school aged children and infants.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the causes of illness that has been identified. RSV is a common virus that affects all age groups but is especially severe for infants less than one year old, for older people and people who are immunocompromised. It is very infectious and can easily pass from person to person through coughing and sneezing.
To help protect our vulnerable patients, and also our staff, from catching RSV we:
- have closed maternity wards, children's wards and special care baby units to visitors (excluding a child's immediate caregiver)
- ask people not to visit patients in any ward in our hospitals if they have cold or flu symptoms
- ask people with outpatient appointments to phone before their appointment if they are unwell, for advice about what to do
- ask people who have to be in our hospitals to take precautions if they are unwell: ask for a face mask during your visit, sanitise your hands, wash your hands thoroughly before entering the hospital and try to avoid touching too many things.
COVID-19 vaccination update
As at 14 July, 63,875 doses of the free Pfizer BioNTech vaccine have been administered in the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough region since vaccination started on 1 March 2021. 27,202 of these are second doses.
This puts Nelson Marlborough Health and our primary care and Māori health partners ahead of target. We are currently achieving 162% of our target as reported on the Ministry of Health website.
We are currently offering vaccination to people in Groups 1, 2 and 3. We have completed vaccination clinics for all rest homes in Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough and have started to vaccinate people in their homes if they are not able to leave their house easily.
Vaccination for people in Groups 1, 2 and 3 will continue until late July when we will start to offer it to people in Group 4. We are currently providing approximately 4,500 vaccines a week and plan to gradually increase this to the point we are offering approximately 12,500 a week from late August onwards.
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COVID-19 test information
Testing is free for people with COVID-19 symptoms. If you are unsure of whether you should get a test, call Healthline for advice: 0800 358 5453.
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2021 Minister of Health Volunteer Awards
Let's celebrate and pay tribute to those individuals and teams of volunteers who make a difference to New Zealanders' health.
Nominations are now open for the 2021 Minister of Health Volunteer Awards, which recognise the thousands of unsung heroes who help support New Zealand's health and disability system.
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Supporting the transition from hospital to home for those affected by stroke
Returning to life at home after a stroke can be a challenging and daunting experience for everyone involved. The H2H seminars help stroke survivors and their families make the transition.
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