Wellington Regional Hospital

Physical address: Wellington Regional Hospital 49 - 69 Riddiford Street in Newtown.

Postal address: Wellington Regional Hospital, Private Bag 7902, Wellington 6242

• Map of Wellington Regional Hospital (PDF)
• Elevation map of Wellington Regional Hospital (PDF)
• How to get to the Ophthalmology (Eye) department (PDF)
• Directions to the Ewart building (PDF) 

Finding your way around

You will find maps and signs throughout the hospital and a copy of the main building map is available at reception in the main atrium. Each building is marked on the map in a different colour. If you’re unsure where to go, please ask one of our volunteers at the desk in the main atrium (see below) or our friendly staff members. All staff wear identity cards and are happy to help you.

When you come to the hospital you may be greeted by a hospital volunteer who can guide you to your appointment if you need help. If you wish to know more about the Wellington Hospitals Foundation hospital volunteer service or about becoming a volunteer please visit www.whf.org.nz.

Buses to Wellington Regional Hospital

Direct services connect the hospital with Wellington’s city centre and most of its eastern, western and southern suburbs. You can travel into the city by bus or train from Hutt Valley, Eastbourne, Wainuiomata, Johnsonville / Tawa, Porirua or Kapiti, and take a connecting bus to the hospital. The hospital is a 10 to 15 minute bus ride from the railway station, airport and ferry terminal.

Direct bus routes run to and from the following suburbs past the hospital. For more information you can phone Metlink on 0800 801 700 or use the online journey planner.

• Route 1 - Johnsonville West/ Churton Park/ Grenada Village - Island Bay
• Route 3 - Lyall Bay/ Rongotai - Kilbirnie - Newtown - Wellington
• Route 18e - Miramar - Newton - Kelburn - Karori
• Route 23 - Houghton Bay - Newtown - Vogeltown - Kingston - Wellington station
• Route 29 - Newtown- Southgate - Owhiro Bay - Brooklyn
  

Taxis

Taxis are available from the front entrance of the hospital on Riddiford Street.

Free shuttles between hospital sites

Shuttles are available between Wellington Regional Hospital and Kenepuru Community Hospital and the door-to-door Kapiti Community and Health Transport Service. Find out more.

On-site cancer society volunteer driving service

Patients who need occasional help with transport to cancer treatment can request the volunteer driving service. Talk to the staff at the Wellington Blood and Cancer Centre for more information.

Main parking area

Entry and exit to the main underground car park is via the Riddiford Street entrance. There are 310 car parks for patient and visitors. Additional parking is available for patients and visitors on Mein Street. Spaces available for public use are are marked by green lines.

Other parking areas

Parking for the Eye Clinic, Children's Hospital, Paediatric Outpatients, Centre for Endocrine, Diabetes and Obesity Research.

Patients and visitors to the eye clinic and the children’s hospital can also park in parts of the C zone parking at the top of Hospital Road behind the Grace Neill Block. Spaces available for public use are are marked by green lines

There is also limited patient parking that can be accessed via Hospital Road, off Adelaide Road.

View map of all car parks at Wellington Regional Hospital

Accessible parking

Mobility parking spaces are marked on this map

Car parking charges

Charges are posted at the entrance and must be paid prior to exit at any of the automatic payment machines located in the lift foyers. These machines take coins, notes and credit cards.

If you visit the hospital a lot and have difficulty paying for parking, please see the charge nurse or team leader in the department you are visiting, you may be eligible for discounted car parking.

General visiting hours: 10am–1pm and 3pm–8pm daily.

Te Whatu Ora Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley are permitting a maximum of two adult visitors (over 16 years), who may be accompanied by up to two children or teenagers (under 16 years of age).

This applies to all of our wards, units, and campuses - apart from Cancer Ward 5 North at Wellington Hospital where only one visitor is permitted at a time.

Medical masks must be worn by all visitors at all times while on our campuses and are available at our entrances.

Please note that, in the case of very sick or special needs patients, longer visiting hours can be arranged with the charge nurse.

Restrictions on visiting are to ensure the safety of patients and staff by minimising avoidable contact and the potential for spread of the Covid-19 virus. Please check our current visitor restrictions here. 

General visitor information

• Visiting hours are designed to ensure patients have the opportunity to enjoy the company of family and friends while recognising the need to maintain the comfort and safety of all patients.
• Whānau/family are welcome outside of the regular visiting hours but must talk to a nurse or administrator at ward reception before going to see the patient. This may include whānau/family participating in doctor’s rounds and assisting with activities of daily living (ADL’s).
• Children are very welcome to visit, but young children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
• When a patient is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), family members are welcome to sit with the patient at any time.
• Occasionally, in shared rooms, the number of people or length of time spent with a patient may be restricted out of consideration to other patients nearby.
• Due to limited space in the Day Surgery Unit, we invite no more than two whānau/family members remain with the patient.
• Mental Health, Addictions and Intellectual Disability Service access website for further information.
• These hours allow for clinical team assessment and treatment processes to be completed, patient comfort cares and rest periods.

Te Wao Nui child health service and hospital: Parents/guardians may visit at any time. All other visiting hours are the same as - the rest of the hospital - these are 10am–1pm and 3pm–8pm daily.

Mental health: Visits need to be discussed with the team leader prior to visiting.

Your GP or specialist may refer you for an outpatient appointment at Wellington Regional Hospital, Kenepuru Community Hospital or Kapiti Health Centre.

Read more about outpatient appointments.

Need an interpreter?

In New Zealand, every individual has the legal right to a competent interpreter when meeting with health service providers. A free Interpreter Service is available if you do not speak English as your first language, or have hearing loss and use New Zealand Sign Language. Please discuss this with a member of your healthcare team (e.g. nurse, doctor) to arrange an interpreter.

Patients or their whānau may request a professional interpreter and health professionals will then assess whether an interpreter is necessary to provide safe and adequate healthcare. It’s preferred that family members are not used as interpreters. This is due to a number reasons including the risk of inaccurate interpretation.

Deaf or hard of hearing?

iSign is the designated New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) service provider for Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley. The service is available 24-hours. Please discuss this with a member of your healthcare team to arrange a NZSL interpreter.

For more information about iSign visit their website www.isign.co.nz

Need a wheelchair or help from an orderly?

Phone us on 04 385 5999 extension 86100 before you visit to arrange this.

Cultural support and chaplains 

The cultural support area is at the front of the main atrium to the left just past reception and through the glass doors. Here you’ll find our:

• Whanau Care Services (view page)
• Pacific support services (view page)
• Chaplaincy department and chapel
• Muslim prayer room

The Chapel and Muslim prayer room are open 24 hours and can be used by all hospital patients, relatives and staff.

If you would like a chaplain to visit, please ask a staff member to phone the relevant service.

Availability during the week: Roman Catholic - Monday to Friday, 8am-2pm; Maori - Monday and Tuesday 8am-12am; all others - Monday to Friday, 8am-4.30pm. 

After hours: there is a chaplain and Catholic Priest available for critical situations via the Call Centre.

If you want to access a minister from a particular faith not represented within the chaplaincy team, ask your nurse, midwife or doctor for the list of on-call chaplains or ask one of the chaplaincy team to contact an appropriate person.

Cafés

Wellington Regional Hospital has two cafés and a coffee bar which cater for visitors, patients and staff.

• Vibe Café is open 7am-7pm weekdays and 8.30am-6pm weekends.
• Wishbone (in the main atrium) is open from 6.30am to 6pm weekdays and 8.30am to 4pm weekends.
• Mojo (in the Clinical Services Block by the Mein Street entrance) is open from 7am to 4pm weekdays, 8am-1.30pm Saturdays, 9am-1.30pm Sundays.

Hospital gift shop

There is a gift shop located in the atrium of Wellington Hospital for patients, staff and visitors. The hours are 8.30am-4pm on weekdays and 9am-3pm weekends.

The shop sells a wide range of items including:

• Newspapers, magazines and books
• Flowers, gifts and soft toys 
• Greeting or get well cards and stamps
• WiFi tokens, phone and Snapper card top-ups
• Snacks and water
• Basic pharmaceuticals and toiletries
  
• Dry cleaning

You can also place orders online at shop.whf.org.nz or using your credit card over the phone on 04 389 5610 for delivery to patients. The gift shop is run by the hospital's official charity, Wellington Hospitals Foundation. Find out more at www.whf.org.nz

Internet access (WiFi)

For patients staying overnight, free WiFi is available at Wellington Regional Hospital, Kenepuru Community Hospital and Kapiti Health Centre. Find out more including instructions for how to connect here.

For outpatients, basic WiFi is available at Wellington Regional Hospital in the main building, the Grace Neill Block, the Children's Hospital and the Emergency Department. You can buy tokens at the hospital gift shop in the atrium of the main building. The cost is $5 for 8 consecutive hours.

Banking and post

Opposite the Hospital Gift Shop is an ASB ATM machine (this caters for most banks) and a post box for national and international posting.

Branches of most banks and a New Zealand Post Shop can be found on Riddiford Street in Newtown – turn left out the main entrance and walk for 5 minutes down Riddiford Street.

Whānau rooms for families

These are available on levels 4, 5, 6 and 7 for all whānau visiting patients on the wards, and provides a place for larger gatherings. The hospital is part of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative and these rooms also offer a quiet space for nursing mothers.

Send a message to a patient

This service allows you to send a fax message to a friend or family member in a ward within Wellington Regional Hospital. To make use of this facility please call (04) 385 5999 and ask the operator to send a message through to the ward. The message will be added to a fax greeting and sent through to the ward and on to the patient.

Sending flowers, letters or parcels

Anything you send to a patient should be clearly marked with the patient’s name and ward. Please use our postal address to send letters and parcels, or our physical address for flowers. Flowers are not allowed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or Ward 7 south. 

Margaret Stewart House

Priority goes to patients receiving cancer and dialysis treatment.

Phone: (04) 380 0300

Te Whare Whānau o Te Pehi Parata

Temporary accommodation is available for whānau from outside the Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley region who are supporting an inpatient. Accommodation is limited and pre-booking is advised. There is one room per whānau for three or four people depending on availability. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

To enquire about availability contact Whānau Care Services between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday on 0800 999 442 or email wcs@ccdhb.org.nz.

Ronald McDonald House

Ronald McDonald House provides free accommodation to families with seriously ill children aged 21 and under while they are receiving treatment in Wellington Regional Hospital.

Priority is given to families who live more than 80km away from Wellington or those who live in the South Island. Distance limits are waived for families with a child in ICU.

Phone: (04) 389 5505

Nearby Accommodation

• Southgate Motel, 70-72 Riddiford St, Newtown, (04) 939 9292.
• Ascot Motor Lodge, 46 Riddiford St, Newtown, (04) 380 0047.
• Adelaide Motel, 209-211 Adelaide Rd, Newtown, (04) 389 8138.
• Rydges Wellington Airport Hotel, 28 Stewart Duff Drive, Rongotai, Wellington, (04) 896 9150
• Sojourn Apartment Hotel, 22-26 Riddiford Street, Newtown 0800 765 687.
• Sojourn Ghuznee, 75 Ghuznee Street, Wellington City - Information sheet

When we lend any equipment we will provide a date when they are to be returned. If you need to use the equipment for longer, you can call up and ask for an extension. There is no charge for equipment, or fee if they are returned late. 

Find out more about returning hospital equipment