On this page
- Wairau Hospital emergency department (ED)
- After hours and urgent medical centres
- Contact information
- Visiting hours
- How to get to Wairau Hospital
- Transfers and transport between hospitals
- Parking information
- Wairau Hospital map
- Wairau Hospital services
- Wairau Hospital facilities
- Information for your hospital visit
- Your stay in hospital
- Feedback
After hours and urgent medical centres
If you cannot wait to see your usual doctor, nurse, or healthcare provider, or you do not have one, go to an after hours or urgent medical centre. They can help you with things like bad cuts, sprains or breaks, minor head injuries, or if you are feeling really sick. You do not need an appointment but might have to wait.
The Marlborough Urgent Care Centre is located close to the Wairau Hospital emergency department and is staffed by a multidisciplinary team that includes GPs, nurses and nurse practitioners.
Opening hours
The Marlborough Urgent Care Centre is open every day from 8am to 8pm.
Contact Marlborough Urgent Care Centre
Call 03 520 6377
Marlborough Urgent Care Centre (external link)
Contact information
Visiting hours
Wairau Hospital visiting hours are 2:30pm to 8pm, 7 days a week.
How to get to Wairau Hospital
Wairau Hospital is located on Hospital Road.
30 Hospital Road
Blenheim 7201
By bus
Bus Route 2: Redwoodtown-Witherlea (South Route) stops near the entrance to the hospital. The service runs 4 times a day Monday to Friday and 3 times a day on Saturday.
Bus Route 2: Redwoodtown-Witherlea (South Route) — Marlborough District Council (external link)
By St John's health shuttle
St John's Waka Ora health shuttles help people get to health and wellbeing related appointments and home again. Their shuttles are available in the following areas:
- Blenheim
- Havelock
- Picton
- Renwick
- Seddon.
Find out about shuttle times in your area by calling St John on 0800 103 046 or going to their website.
Transfers and transport between hospitals
People who live in the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough regions may be treated at either Nelson Hospital or Wairau Hospital in Blenheim.
People who live in Nelson may be offered treatment at Wairau – an earlier appointment than they would be able to get at Nelson.
People who live in Marlborough may need to travel to Nelson Hospital to receive specialist care that isn't available at Wairau.
People who travel between hospitals in this way, and who are Community Services Card holders, may be eligible for financial assistance for travel and accommodation.
Inpatient transfer refers to people who are already in the hospital, being treated as an inpatient, and who need to be transferred to another hospital.
This may be to Nelson Hospital or Wairau Hospital, or to a hospital outside of the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough region (such as Wellington or Christchurch Hospital).
In these cases, patients travel with a medical professional in the most appropriate way determined for that patient. This could be by ambulance or fixed-wing aircraft or helicopter.
Our patient travel team will help arrange accommodation for family members of patients being transferred if required.
Sometimes patients need to be treated at a hospital in another region. This usually occurs when specialist care is needed at a bigger hospital.
Patients that receive confirmation of an appointment or procedure at a hospital outside of the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough region (such as Wellington Hospital or Christchurch Hospital) will likely have their travel organised by the Nelson Marlborough patient travel team.
The National Travel Assistance scheme assists with costs incurred when you travel for healthcare appointments outside of the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough regions.
National Travel Assistance (internal link)
What is an inter-hospital transfer?
This is when you are transported from one hospital to another. It is usually by plane or helicopter if urgent, or by road in an ambulance.
Why do I need an inter-hospital transfer?
Your specialist has referred you to another hospital to receive the specific treatment you need.
What is an air ambulance?
This is a specialised plane for transferring hospital patients. It has a stretcher, oxygen, a monitor so we can check your vital signs and other emergency equipment. The flight nurse can give you medications, pain relief or fluids during the flight if you need them, and monitor your observations.
How do I get to the airport?
You don't need to organise anything for the transfer. Your flight nurse will arrange an ambulance to pick you up from your ward. Your flight nurse will travel with you in the ambulance to the airport, in the plane and then again in the ambulance at the destination airport out to the hospital you have been transferred to.
How do I get in and out of the plane?
If you are able to walk, we can assist you up the stairs. If you are not able to walk, we will bring the stretcher off the plane on a lifting platform, transfer you onto this in the hangar, and then lift you into the plane with the lifter platform, which the pilot raises slowly with a foot lever.
Can I sit in a chair rather than lie on a stretcher?
If you are able to walk, are in very little or no pain, and are not needing close monitoring on the flight, you can sit in a chair.
How many people will be on the plane? And can my support person or whānau member travel with me?
There will usually be one pilot and one flight nurse on each flight. We make every effort to take one support person with you, but sometimes this is not possible due to space or weight. Sometimes we take extra staff on a flight to keep you safe during transfer, and occasionally we will transport two patients together.
Do I have to pay for my flight or ambulance?
No, the costs are all covered by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora. The commercial flight for your support person is also covered, and their accommodation is paid up to a maximum of $140 per night. They will need to pay for any costs over $140 per night.
Information for people in Nelson Marlborough
For people transferring to Nelson Hospital for a procedure, who are likely to be discharged home directly and do not need to be transferred back to Wairau Hospital first, we encourage whānau to travel by car.
This is so that they have the ability to drive you back home, as we do not fly or drive patients home who are discharged from Nelson Hospital.
It is different if you are transferred to a hospital outside Nelson Marlborough. In this case travel is usually organised for you, and the National Travel Assistance scheme is available to help with costs.
National Travel Assistance (internal link)
How much luggage can I take?
You can bring 1–2 medium-sized bags. Exceptions can be made in some circumstances, but the pilot will advise on the day. Make sure the flight nurse is aware of any extra or bulky luggage required, such as wheelchairs.
If my support person can't fly with me, how do they get to where I will be?
We have a patient travel service that will make all the arrangements for a flight and accommodation for your support person. You and your support person will be asked to fill out a National Travel Assistance form prior to travel. You will be contacted when travel arrangements have been made.
National Travel Assistance (internal link)
How do we get back home?
If you need to be transferred back to a hospital, then a flight service will be arranged for you. If you are being discharged home, then arrangements will be made by the patient travel team.
You can contact the team at patient.travel@nmdhb.govt.nz on call 03 546 1727 Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm. Outside of these hours call 0800 281 222
Is there any accommodation available for my support person?
Altrusa House is located at Nelson Hospital. Information on Altrusa House (internal link) is located in the facilities section of this page.
National Travel Assistance
The National Travel Assistance Scheme helps people who need to travel long distances or travel frequently for health appointments.
Parking information
The main entrance to Wairau Hospital is on Hospital Road.
Mobility parking spaces
Mobility parking spaces are available outside most main entrances, as marked on the Wairau Hospital map.
Wairau Hospital map
Wairau Hospital services
Wairau Hospital facilities
There is a pharmacy for inpatients at Wairau Hospital. It is located near the reception area in the surgical ward.
Phone the pharmacy: 03 520 9918
The Wairau Hospital pharmacy is an inpatient dispensary. Pharmacists do not dispense outpatient prescriptions, except for a restricted range of medicines that are not normally available from a community pharmacy.
If you are not an inpatient, find a pharmacy near you on Healthpoint.
Blenheim pharmacies — Healthpoint (external link)
Flavours Café provides hot meals, snacks and drinks for staff and visitors.
The café is open:
- 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
- 10am to 2pm, weekends
The café caters to dietary requirements, such as gluten-free and vegetarian meals.
Hospital chaplains are specifically trained for hospital ministry and visit the wards each day. They are available to staff, patients and whānau and are an integral part of the healthcare team.
The chaplain's role is to support a person facing challenging life issues that are having an impact on their sense of well-being.
Hospital chaplains offer:
- time to listen
- friendship
- encouragement
- guidance
- prayer
- bedside communion
- anointing
- formal services for baptisms, weddings, celebrations and funerals.
Chapel and communion
The Wairau Hospital chapel is always open for rest, peace, quiet and worship. It offers an inclusive religious and cultural space that welcomes everyone of all faiths or none.
Contact the Wairau Hospital chaplain
Patients and relatives can request a nurse to call for a chaplain. Referrals are welcome from the community.
You can also call the chaplain direct on 03 520 6479 or call or text on 022 342 4143
If you have been issued equipment and no longer need it, return to:
Rehabilitation Equipment Store
Wairau Hospital
Taylor Pass Road entrance
Blenheim 7201
Phone: 03 520 9927 — option 1
Hours: 8am to 2:30pm, Monday to Friday
We can also collect certain items if necessary.
Examples of equipment include:
- crutches
- wheelchairs
- bedside commodes
- shower stools.
Information for your hospital visit
What to do on arrival
Go to the Allied Health reception desk where your name and details will be taken. You will be asked to take a seat in the waiting area. All clients are given timed appointments.
Appointment duration
Your first appointment may last up to an hour. The physiotherapist will discuss your health with you and together you will set some treatment goals, discuss treatment options and self-management advice. Follow-up appointments of up to 30 minutes may be required.
Tell your physiotherapist if you are pregnant or have had a pacemaker fitted.
You are welcome to bring a support person or whānau.
The department will try to meet your cultural needs and interpreters are available if necessary.
Clothing recommendations
Wear comfortable, loose fitting clothes and be prepared to undress so that the physiotherapist can examine you.
Depending on the injury or condition it might be a good idea to wear a pair of shorts and a vest or singlet top.
You will be examined in a private cubicle.
What else to bring
Bring a list of the current medications you are taking and copies of any other relevant investigations or tests. This can help with planning your treatment and care.
It is also essential that you inform the physiotherapist if you are receiving treatment from another healthcare provider.
Physiotherapy students
The department often supervises the teaching and professional development of students. We will ask for your consent before any assessment is made by a student.
If you need to cancel your appointment
Provide as much notice as possible if you need to change your appointment. This way, we can offer your appointment time to another patient.
Crutches and walking aids
The physiotherapy department will provide the appropriate type of walking aid for you. You will be assessed by a physiotherapist first.
Costs
There are no charges for our physiotherapy services. But if additional equipment or garments are required, you may need to pay for them. Your therapist will discuss this with you.
Problems after discharge
If you have any related health problems after you stop attending the department for treatment, contact your healthcare provider or call Healthline on 0800 611 116.
These videos talk you through preparing for hip or knee replacement surgery.
- What you can do to prepare yourself at home prior to surgery (such as exercises).
- What to expect during and after surgery, as well as on discharge and follow-up.
- Demonstrating how to use stairs and crutches.
- The role of staff and yourself in this process.