If you have any concerns about the patient or their care, in the first instance please talk to a member of the care team or to the nurse in charge of the ward, if you prefer. We also have a number of ways you can provide feedback or make a complaint.
Supporting a patient
Supporting a patient
Close family and friends or carers are an important part of a patient’s care and recovery.
Support by family/whānau is encouraged. Care needs will vary from patient to patient. Some patients may want their family/whānau to provide personal hands-on care, while others may prefer emotional or spiritual support.
We appreciate that family and close friends want to know what is happening and even be involved in care decisions. We welcome this, but will be guided by the patient’s wishes or, where a patient is unable to express those wishes, by the emergency contact or next of kin, or by any advance care plan the patient has made.
In many of our hospitals, there will be whānau/family rooms where families can gather to discuss something or take time out.
A key support person can be nominated for closer involvement in the patient’s care and to be able to stay for longer than the normal visiting hours. Read more about key support person.