After hours and emergency care

Unless it’s an emergency, always call your own doctor first when you or someone in your family is sick or injured. Even after hours your call will be answered by a nurse who can give you free health advice.

If you need to see a doctor for an acute illness, injury, or severe problems breathing please come to ED as normal.   A nurse will ask you a series of questions before you enter.

If you are experiencing less severe symptoms of COVID-19, please call Healthline FIRST.  They may then refer you to a community testing centre.

There are a number of medical centres in the region that are open in the evenings, weekends and public holidays. If your normal doctor is closed or you are from out of town you can visit these medical centres.

Wellington Accident & Urgent Medical Centre

17 Adelaide Road, Newtown, Wellington

Phone: (04) 384 4944

Hours: 8am to 11pm every day

Additional services: X-ray and fracture clinic facilities

Kenepuru Accident and Medical Clinic

Kenepuru Hospital, Raiha Street, Porirua

Phone: (04) 918 2300

Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Additional services: X-ray and fracture clinic facilities available during the week and from 10am to 4pm on weekends

Team Medical

Coastlands Mall, State highway 1, Paraparaumu

Phone: (04) 297 3000

Hours: 8am to 10pm every day

Additional services: X-ray facilities

Lower Hutt After Hours Medical Centre

729 High Street, Lower Hutt

Phone: (04) 567 5345

Hours: 5.30pm to 11am Monday to Friday, 8am to 11pm Saturday and Sunday

Upper Hutt Medical Centre

Queen Street carpark, Upper Hutt

Phone: (04) 920 1800

Hours: 8.30am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm Saturday and Sunday

 

Pharmacies can provide you with free health advice as well help you with your medication. A lot of pharmacies are open in the weekends. There are also a few pharmacies that are open late at night and on public holidays.

Urgent Pharmacy Wellington

17 Adelaide Road, Newtown, Wellington

Phone: (04) 385 8810

Hours: 9am to 11pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 11pm Saturday, Sunday and public holidays

Kenepuru Pharmacy

Kenepuru Hospital, Raiha Street, Porirua

Phone: (04) 238 9939

Hours: 9am to 10pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 10pm Saturday, Sunday and public holidays

Life Pharmacy Coastlands

Coastlands Shop 6, Main Road, Paraparaumu

Phone: 04 298-9988

Hours (from 14 November 2016): 8.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Sunday (and late night Thursday until 8.30pm)

Lower Hutt Urgent Pharmacy

After Hours Medical Centre

729 High St

Lower Hutt

Phone: 04 939-6777

Hours: 6pm to 11pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 11pm Saturday, Sunday and public holidays

Queen St Pharmacy

35 Queen St

Upper Hutt

Phone: 04 528 5858

Hours: 9am to 9pm Monday to Sunday

Patients in most urgent need are seen first at our Emergency Department.

If your injury or illness is not urgent you may have to wait several hours to be seen. If you don't require urgent help, call your doctor or Healthline to find out if you need to come to the emergency department.

If you can’t visit your own GP, you can visit the  Wellington After Hours Clinic 

Wellington Hospital Emergency Department

The Emergency Department is located at Wellington Regional Hospital, Riddiford Street, Newtown, Wellington 6021. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The nature and urgency of your illness or injury will be assessed when you arrive at the Emergency Department. Patients are treated in order of urgency, not arrival times, so those with more severe symptoms or injuries are treated before those with less serious conditions.

Conditions are classed as:

• Life-threatening – for example a cardiac arrest. Treatment is immediate.
• Emergency – for example chest pain, or severe shortness of breath. We aim to treat these patients within 10 minutes.
• Urgent – for example bad injuries or severe abdominal pain. We aim to treat these patients within 30 minutes.
• Semi-urgent - for example a fractured wrist. We aim to treat these patients within 60 minutes.
• Non-urgent – for example minor strains or sprains, which could be treated by a GP/primary healthcare organisation. We aim to treat these patients within two hours.

GP referrals to the Emergency Department

Your GP may refer you acutely to the Emergency Department specialist on call or to another hospital specialist. Please make the triage nurse aware of this on your arrival in the Emergency Department, and hand over any letter the GP might have given you for hospital staff. We cannot make “appointments” for patients referred by their GP for review in the Emergency Department but we may be able to facilitate aspects of care from triage such as xrays and blood tests.

Eligibility for free emergency care

Health care services at CCDHB are funded by the government.  Anyone needing emergency care will receive treatment. However, patients that do not qualify for free or subsidised health care will be charged for their treatment. Read more about whether you are eligible for free healthcare in an emergency. 

Emergency care for Kāpiti residents

Some Kāpiti residents requiring emergency ambulance care and a possible trip to Wellington Hospital now have a treatment option closer to home.  Read more

Te Haika is a mental health and addictions contact centre for people in crisis or experiencing moderate to severe mental health or addiction problems.It is for everyone from Wellington, Porirua, Kāpiti, the Hutt Valley and the Wairarapa.

Te Haika is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by mental health and addiction professionals.

• Phone: 0800 745 477.
  
• Fax referrals: 04 918 2204
• Email: tehaika@ccdhb.org.nz

You can read more about Te Haika at http://www.mhaids.health.nz/our-services/do-you-or-does-someone-you-know-need-help-now/.