Intensive care unit — Canterbury

The intensive care unit at Christchurch hospital is a tertiary intensive care facility. It has 36 beds. The unit provides tertiary care for people in Canterbury and the West Coast.


Contact us

To contact the intensive care unit (ICU), call 03 364 0640

Postal address:

Department of Intensive Care
Christchurch Hospital
Private Bag 4710
Christchurch

The unit is open 24 hours a day, every day.

Visiting ICU

Visiting hours in intensive care are unrestricted, but there are times when visiting may not be possible, for example:

  • during a procedure
  • during a linen change
  • when a doctor or physiotherapist is doing a review.

In some cases, we might only allow visits from close whānau and friends.


Where to find us

The intensive care unit is at:

Level 1
Waipapa building
Christchurch Hospital


Services we provide

Intensive care is specialist care for people who have sudden and potentially reversible life-threatening diseases or injuries. This could be after:

  • accidents
  • operations
  • severe infections and other medical events.

We also treat people who are in a coma.

We treat both adults and children.

Children's high care intensive care unit (internal link)


Referral information

We admit people from:

  • the emergency department
  • hospital wards
  • the operating theatre
  • another hospital or intensive care unit.