Public health services in Otago and Southland
You can contact the Early childhood centre team by phone on:
- 03 476 9800 in Dunedin
- 03 211 0900 in Invercargill
- 03 450 9156 in Queenstown
For guidance on early childhood centre health assessments visit the Health New Zealand website.
Early childhood centre health assessments (external link)
Keeping your centre healthy (external link)
Early learning service and kōhanga reo resources (external link)
Our health protection officers work to protect and promote the health and wellbeing of people across the Wellington region from actual and potential environmental hazards and risks across the region.
Environmental health — Health NZ (external link)
Notify NPHS in Otago and Southland of:
- an infectious disease
- a hazardous substance injury or poisoning
- a gastro or respiratory outbreak at a education centre or aged-care facility.
Notify National Public Health Service - South Island | Te Waipounamu (external link)
Public health nurses provide free health services to tamariki in primary and intermediate schools.
Public health nursing for schools and preschools (internal link)
School public health nursing — Health NZ (external link)
Health resources for schools and kura — Health NZ (external link)
Find out the training and authorisation requirements to become an authorised vaccinator.
Authorised vaccinator (external link)
Schools that have moved to being water only have seen that it benefits teaching and learning as well as student health and wellbeing.
Water-only schools (external link)
The Sleep space programme is a coordinated approach to delivering infant public health services, including safe sleep, smokefree, breastfeeding, immunisation and gentle handling, to those most at risk of experiencing Sudden Unexpected Death of an Infant (SUDI). There are 3 core elements to delivery.
- Infant health education.
- Portable sleep space.
- Spread of safe sleep awareness messages through a partnership relationship.
The 3 programme components are essential. They facilitate engagement with priority families, offer a free sleep space and promote a partnership relationship and shared responsibility for protecting the region's more vulnerable infants.
Pēpi-pods and wahakura are the 2 types of sleep spaces offered.
Pēpi-pod sleep space programme (external link)
Hāpai SUDI prevention coordination service Ngā Whenu O Te Wahakura (external link)
How sleep spaces are distributed
Local agencies with contracts to support pregnancy and newborns distribute the sleep spaces and collect programme data. Their staff undergo programme-specific distributor training.
If your organisation would be interested in becoming a sleep space distributor, email us at so-nphs-safesleep@tewhatuora.govt.nz
Who can get a sleep space
Eligibility for the sleep space programme is based on evidence of increased risk of SUDI. Referrals are encouraged for whānau and pēpi who meet one or more of the following criteria.
Pēpi criteria:
- low birth weight — under 2.5kg
- premature — born at less than 37 weeks
- Māori or Pasifika descent
- smoke-exposed — before, during and after pregnancy.
Parent criteria:
- multiple pregnancy
- under 25 years
- had a previous SUDI event.
Other criteria:
- regular use of alcohol or drugs in the household
- low maternal support
- no sleep space for pēpi
- bed sharing
- housing related
- minimal or no antenatal care.
Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis.
What is available for whānau who do not meet the sleep space criteria
Where whānau do not meet programme criteria there is the option of buying a sleep space privately. Otherwise, bassinets are available at no cost to:
- Dunedin residents from Pregnancy Help Dunedin 03 455 5892
- Invercargill residents from Jubilee Budget Advisory Service 03 214 0942
How to make a referral to our services
To make a referral, email us a completed Southern sleep space form.
Southern sleep space formPDF199 KB
Contact information
- Phone 03 476 9800 in Otago
- Phone 03 211 8500 in Southland
- Email so-nphs-safesleep@tewhatuora.govt.nz
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 and office details
You can contact NPHS — Otago and Southland by:
- completing our online form
- email SO-NPHS-NotifyMOH@tewhatuora.govt.nz
- after hours email SO-NPHS-OnCallHPO@tewhatuora.govt.nz
- after hours phone 03 474 0999
National Public Health Services — Otago and Southland contact form (internal link)
Specific location and contact details
Phone 03 476 9800
Street address
Main Block, Level 2
Wakari Hospital
Taieri Road
Dunedin
Postal address
National Public Health Service
Private Bag 1921
Dunedin 9054
Phone 03 211 8500
Street address
23 Forth Street
Invercargill
Postal address
National Public Health Service
PO Box 1601
Invercargill 9840
Phone 03 450 9156
Street address
Suite 2, Level 3, Building 7
Hawthorne Drive
Remarkables Park
Queenstown
Postal address
National Public Health Service
PO Box 2180
Frankton
Queenstown 9349
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.
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