National Public Health Service — Canterbury and West Coast
National Public Health Service — Te Mana Ora is responsible for preventing illness and disease, protecting population health, and promoting wellbeing and hauora.
It works alongside the communities of Canterbury, South Canterbury, West Coast and Chatham Islands to achieve pae ora (healthy futures).
Public health services in Canterbury, South Canterbury and West Coast
Dental care is free for tamariki and rangatahi until they turn 18.
You should enrol your pēpi with your local community oral health service at birth or as soon as possible after that. Your midwife or nurse will be able to help you to enrol. The service is free and supports you and your whānau to care for the teeth of your tamaiti.
Caring for your child's first teeth (internal link)
Oral support for under 5s in South Canterbury
The South Canterbury Child nutrition and oral health promoter works with the community to create environments that promote good oral health from an early age, including:
- supporting South Canterbury education settings to promote good oral health
- coordinating the rollout of Te Hā o Aoraki | The Breath of Aoraki toothbrushing programme in South Canterbury education settings
- working alongside other services to promote good oral health, such as Well Child Providers.
Oral support for under 5s in Canterbury
Public health Canterbury runs a toothbrushing programme in Canterbury education settings.
Find a dental provider in your area
Dentistry in Canterbury — Healthpoint (external link) (external link)
Dentistry in South Canterbury — Healthpoint (external link)
Dentistry in West Coast — Healthpoint (external link)
For guidance on early childhood centre health assessments visit the Health New Zealand website.
Early childhood centre health assessments
The National Public Health Service (NPHS) wants to improve the health and wellbeing of the people by supporting them to become more physically active.
Physical activity (internal link)
Active Canterbury
NPHS — Canterbury and West Coast is a member of Active Canterbury. Their site lists local groups, clubs or classes for activities and gives information about parks, tracks and facilities.
Active Canterbury (external link)
Active environments and transport
We work with key stakeholders to make sure our urban areas are active environments designed to promote physical activity, by having:
- sufficient green space
- recreational areas and other open spaces, such as skateparks and walking trails
- access to active transport such as walking, cycling, jogging, using a scooter or public transport.
One of the easiest ways to incorporate physical activity into your life is to walk or cycle for everyday transport.
Healthy Streets (external link)
Cycling Action Network (external link)
Disabled Persons Assembly (external link)
Living Streets Aotearoa (external link)
RAD Bikes (Recycle a Dunger) (external link)
Equally Well project
The Equally Well project aims to reduce physical health disparities between people who experience mental health and addiction problems and people who do not.
Five Ways to Wellbeing
The Five Ways to Wellbeing, Ētahi ara e rima ki te ngākau ora, help people stay mentally well.
Five Ways to Wellbeing — Mental Health Foundation (external link)
Healthy Active Learning
Healthy Active Learning is a government programme that delivers education and health outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi across Aotearoa New Zealand.
School travel plans
School travel plans provide safe options for tamariki travelling to and from school, and have the following benefits:
- tamariki are healthier through increased opportunities for physical activity
- increased awareness among parents on the importance of physical exercise for their tamariki
- less cars on the road at peak times and less congestion at the school gate
- tamariki are more aware of the effect of their actions on their environment, such as reducing pollution reduced, and saving energy
- parental concerns about real and perceived road traffic dangers get addressed.
NPHS — Canterbury and West Coast develop these plans together with school communities and local councils.
A healthy home is important for the health and wellbeing of individuals, whānau and communities. (external link)NPHS — Canterbury and West Coast works towards better housing outcomes for everyone to improve health and wellbeing.
Healthy homes — Canterbury and West Coast (internal link)
LinKIDS helps connect families to health services in the Canterbury region.
All preschool tamariki in Aotearoa New Zealand are eligible to receive certain publicly funded health services. Your tamariki may be eligible for a variety of health services such as:
- general healthcare (GP care)
- immunisation
- oral health services
- getting ready for school
- general health and wellbeing care.
Health NZ has a number of initiatives that aim to address these health needs throughout New Zealand and Canterbury and the West Coast.
The National Public Health Service works to improve Māori and Pasifika health outcomes and reduce inequities by:
- building awareness in these communities to identify and respond to issues that affect their health
- coordinating community health education seminars and programmes on identified issues
- providing advice and culturally-appropriate information on issues that affect the health of local communities
- acting as a point of reference for health agencies wishing to communicate with different communities
- raising awareness for health professionals on cultural needs and perspectives
- ongoing networking and consultation with the ethnic communities.
We also work:
- with local Pacific agencies and interagency groups such as Canterbury Pasifika Churches Network and the Christchurch City Council Multicultural Advisory Group
- collaboratively on relevant health issues with Pacific health organisations, the Pacific Caucus, Pacific Reference Group and the Integrated Respiratory Service Development Group (part of the Canterbury Clinical Network).
Related links
Kaupapa Māori — Healthpoint (external link)
Pacific people — Healthpoint (external link)
Māori health — Health NZ (external link)
Māori models of health — Health NZ (external link)
Pacific health — Health NZ (external link)
Ao Mai te Rā: The Anit-Racism Kaupapa — Ministry of Health (external link)
Our infectious disease process, including when you need to send an urgent notification are on the Health NZ website.
Notify National Public Health Service - South Island | Te Waipounamu (external link)
To notify public health of a hazardous substance or environmental health issue, either:
- call 03 364 1777 and ask to speak to a health protection officer
- email CW-NPHS-HealthProtection@TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Public health nurses provide free health services to tamariki in primary and intermediate schools.
Health resources for schools and kura
Find out the training and authorisation requirements to become an authorised vaccinator.
The role of public health
The National Public Health Service is responsible for:
- monitoring environmental health and notifiable diseases
- preventing the spread of disease, including at our international borders
- promoting healthy eating and physical activity
- promoting safe environments and good health practices in early childhood centres and kōhanga reo
- some health services for tamariki, such as screening, B4 School Checks, and tuberculosis (BCG) immunisation for at risk tamariki aged under 5 years old
- reviewing public health regulations and inquiring into applications for alcohol licences and the development of Local Alcohol Plans
- enforcing elements of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990
- guiding and enforcing public health plans, strategies and legislation.
Full information about National Public Health Service and what they do is on the Health NZ website.
Contact information
You can contact us by:
- completing our contact form
- calling your local office.
National Public Health Service contact form — Canterbury and West Coast (internal link)
Canterbury
8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Mid Canterbury
8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
South Canterbury
8:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
West Coast
8:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Street and postal addresses
Canterbury
Canterbury street address:
- 160 Bealey Avenue
- Christchurch
Directions to Canterbury public health office — Google Maps (external link)
Canterbury postal address:
- PO Box 1475
- Christchurch 5140
Mid Canterbury
Mid Canterbury street address:
- Ashburton Hospital (Gate 5)
34 Elizabeth Street - Ashburton
Directions to Mid Canterbury public health office — Google Maps (external link)
South Canterbury
South Canterbury street address:
- 18 Woollcombe Street
- Timaru
Directions to South Canterbury public health office — Google Maps (external link)
South Canterbury postal address:
- PO Box 510
- Timaru 7940
West Coast
West Coast street address:
- 3 Tarapuhi Street
- Greymouth
Directions to West Coast public health office — Google Maps (external link)
West Coast postal address:
- PO Box 443
- Greymouth 7840
How we manage and use your health information
National Public Health Service is involved in preventing and minimising the spread of infectious diseases. This can involve carrying out interviews with people who have or may have an infectious disease (cases), people at risk of catching an infectious disease from a case (disease contacts), or receiving or storing personal health information from other sources.
Your information is protected under the Health Information Privacy Code and other law.
The information collected during interviews, or through other means, will only be used to help prevent the spread of infectious illnesses and keep others safe.
Information gathered will be held by National Public Health Service which is part of Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora.
National Public Health Service may need to share the information gathered with others involved in controlling infectious diseases, such as your doctor or other health services. We will only share this information for the purpose of controlling the disease.
Some information may be made public, like any places and events you have been to. This is to help find people who may have had contact with you. Your personal information will not be shared publicly.
You can access your health information if you wish, and you can ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong or misleading.
You can direct any concerns about the privacy of your health information to your relevant health District Privacy Officer or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
Office of the Privacy Commissioner (external link)
The information we ask you for is important to controlling the spread of infectious diseases. If you do not provide that information, controlling these diseases may be more difficult. Sometimes, we can require you to supply us with the information under the Health Act.