Gisborne Hospital emergency department (ED)

For critical or life-threatening emergencies go to the emergency department or dial 111

If you are not sure how serious the problem is, call Healthline at any time for advice on 0800 611 116

Gisborne Hospital has a 24-hour emergency department. It is located at the front of the hospital building, to the right of the main entrance. It is clearly signed and has its own access.

If you need to enquire about a patient in ED, call 0800 800 620 or 06 869 0500

When to go to ED (internal link)

After hours and urgent medical centres

There are currently no after hours clinics in Tairāwhiti.

There are online and phone options for non-emergency after hours care.

Online and over-the-phone GP appointments (internal link)


Contact us

General enquiries (including ED):

Postal address:

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti
421 Ormond Rd
Private Bag 7001
Gisborne 4040


Visiting hours

Gisborne Hospital visiting hours are between 2pm and 8pm.

Maternity and the neonatal unit have restricted visiting hours of 2pm to 5pm.

If you need to visit a patient outside of visiting hours, a senior clinician or manager can assess your request.


How to get to the hospital

Gisborne Hospital is located at 421 Ormond Road.

Bus routes 1A and 2B both go to the hospital.

Gisborne bus timetable – Gisborne District Council (external link)

The Sunshine Service is a door to door van service which provides transport for older people and disabled people in:

  • Gisborne City
  • Wainui
  • Manutuke
  • Patutahi
  • Ormond.

They take people to and from Gisborne Hospital — this is free for anyone getting treatment, or $5 each way if you are visiting someone in hospital. Bookings should be made the day before your hospital appointment.

The Cancer Society also has volunteer drivers who can take cancer patients to and from appointments at the hospital.

Contact the Gisborne Centre – Cancer Society (external link)

National Travel Assistance helps people who need to travel long distances or travel frequently for health appointments.

National Travel Assistance (internal link)


Parking information

There is free parking at the hospital and on nearby streets. 


Gisborne Hospital facilities

There is a whānau room for families of patients who live outside the district, and for those with a family member in the intensive care unit.

The whānau room has 3 bedrooms, tea and coffee facilities, a microwave, shower and toilet, and a telephone.

Hospital chaplains visit the wards each day. They are available to staff, patients and whānau.

The chaplain’s role is to support a person facing challenging life issues that are having an impact on their sense of wellbeing.

Hospital chaplains offer:

  • time to listen
  • friendship
  • encouragement
  • guidance
  • prayer
  • bedside communion
  • anointing
  • formal services for baptisms, weddings, celebrations and funerals.

Gisborne Hospital chapel is always open for rest, peace, quiet and worship. They offer an inclusive religious and cultural space that welcomes everyone of all faiths or none.

Hauora Māori chaplains

Hauora Māori chaplaincy services provide spiritual and cultural support to Māori and their whānau who are receiving inpatient hospital care.

To request a chaplain visit:

  • contact the chaplain through the hospital switchboard: 06 869 0500
  • ask a nurse to call for a chaplain.

Referrals are welcome from the community.

The Gisborne Hospital pharmacy service is located on the ground floor behind the maternity ward. It provides medicines and medicines-related advice to people admitted to the hospital.

Only prescriptions that cannot be dispensed from a community pharmacy may be dispensed at Gisborne Hospital pharmacy between 8am and 4:30pm.


Patient and visitor information

Whānau Ora Facilitator

Pita Paul

The role of the Whānau Ora facilitator
  • Provide cultural advice and support to hospital staff.
  • Ensure tikangais observed and practised.
  • Ensure cultural safety and awareness improves within the service.
  • Help the service to implement and understand Whānau Ora principles and practices.
  • Ensure that the hospital experience by Māori patients is improved.
  • Ensure smooth transition from hospital to community based Whānau Ora, and other external support services.
Contact the Whānau Ora facilitator

To contact Pita Paul:

Ask your nurse, doctor, or your social worker to make contact for you.

Whānau Ora pakeke

Taina Ngarimu — community-based 
Pita Paul — hospital-based

The role of the Whānau Ora pakeke
  • Assist tāngata turoro (patients), whānau and clinicians with admission and discharge planning, ensuring the needs of the turoro and whānau are met where possible.
  • Participate with appropriate assessment of turoro, ensuring it is inclusive of tīkanga Māori.
  • Assist turoro and whānau to understand your diagnosis and prognosis plus any other queries you have.
  • To work with multi-disciplinary teams in the hospital for the inclusion of culturally safe and appropriate intervention and care plans.
  • To use te reo for those patients that wish to communicate in te reo.
  • To organise and facilitate hui between turoro, whānau and clinicians and advocate outcomes that are mutually agreeable
  • To ensure that the mana, rangatiratanga and cultural practices of the turoro and their whānau are maintained as much as possible within the hospital environment.
  • To normalise tīkanga best practice within the hospital to ensure that you enjoy good care and comfort.
Contact the Whanau Ora pakeke

Monday to Friday, 9am to 12:30pm

To contact Pita Paul:

Ask your nurse, doctor, or your social worker to make contact for you.

Kaiatawhai service

Josie McLean

The role of the kaiatawhai

Assist turoro, whanau and clinicians with admission and discharge planning, ensuring the needs of the turoro and whanau are met where possible.

Participate with appropriate assessment of turoro and that this is inclusive of tīkanga Māori.

Assist turoro and whānau to understand your diagnosis and prognosis plus any other queries you have.

To work with multi-disciplinary teams in the hospital for the inclusion of culturally safe and appropriate intervention and care plans.

To use te reo for those patients that wish to communicate in te reo.

To organise and facilitate hui between turoro, whānau and clinicians and advocate outcomes that are mutually agreeable

To ensure that the mana, rangatiratanga and cultural practices of the turoro and their whānau are maintained as much as possible within the hospital environment.

To normalise tīkanga best practice within the hospital to ensure that you enjoy good care and comfort.

Contact the kaiatawhai

Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm. Ask your nurse, doctor or social worker to contact Josie.

Most units allow up to 2 visitors at a time, but not always.

  • Maternity — 2 support people can be there during labour, and 1 can stay for postnatal admission. After admission, adults and siblings of the new baby can visit between 2pm and 5pm.
  • Neonatal unit — parents are welcome to visit at any time. One other adult may visit between 2pm and 5pm. To protect the vulnerable infant, children, including siblings, are not allowed in the neonatal unit.
  • Paediatrics (Planet Sunshine) — the main caregiver is welcome at any time. Extra visitors can come during visiting hours, but only one at a time.
  • Emergency department — 2 people can support a patient in the emergency department. Extra visitors may sometimes be allowed on compassionate grounds.
  • Intensive Care Unit (ICU) — 2 people can visit during visiting hours.

You can ask for access to information we hold about you. It may take up to 20 working days for us to respond to your request, however, all efforts are made to process all requests as quickly as possible.

Accessing your private information (internal link)

If you have been given equipment and no longer need it, return it to the Community Services admin desk, on the ground floor of the hospital, opposite Planet Sunshine.

This includes items like:

  • crutches
  • wheelchairs
  • bedside commodes
  • shower stools.

We can also collect certain items if necessary.

Feedback

How was the care you or your whānau received at Gisborne Hospital? We welcome feedback, compliments or complaints to help us get things right.

Phone: 06 869 0500 (extention 8465)
Email: feedback@tdh.org.nz
Post:

The Quality Coordinator
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti
421 Ormond Road
Private bag 7001
Gisborne 4040

Tairāwhiti feedback form (internal link)

If you have a problem you want sorted straight away, talk with the staff caring for you or ask to speak with a manager in that area.