NZNO nurses’ strikes planned for 2 and 4 September 2025
Nurses at Health NZ public hospitals and health services plan to strike from 7am to 11pm on both Tuesday 2 September and Thursday 4 September. Emergency departments will be open for emergencies only.
GPs, after-hours and urgent care clinics, and other community health providers are not affected by the strikes and will continue to operate as normal.
For critical or life-threatening emergencies go to the emergency department or dial 111
If you are not sure how serious the problem is, call Healthline at any time for advice on 0800 611 116external link
There is no emergency department at Kenepuru Community Hospital. If you have a critical or life-threatening emergency, go to the Wellington Regional Hospital emergency department.
If your health emergency is not life threatening, but you cannot wait for an appointment with your usual doctor or healthcare provider, go to an after hours or urgent medical centre. They can help you with things like bad cuts, sprains or breaks, minor head injuries, or if you are feeling really sick. You do not need an appointment but might have to wait.
Kenepuru Accident and Medical Clinic
Kenepuru Accident and Medical Clinic is open 24/7.
Patients and their caregivers or visitors can use our free shuttle van service to travel between Kenepuru Community Hospital and Wellington Regional Hospital.
Booking
You need to book a seat on this service — preferably at least one hour before you intend to travel. This can be done by contacting the Wellington transport office:
Office hours are 7:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.
Timetable
The service runs every hour on weekdays, with the first shuttles departing simultaneously from both sites at 7am. Departures continue each hour on the hour, with the final departure at 6pm.
The shuttle does not operate on weekends or public holidays and reduced schedules operate over the Christmas-New Year peak holiday period.
Travel time is usually around 30 minutes, but can be up to 45 minutes as collections and deliveries are often made during the run.
We suggest that patients using the shuttle to travel to appointments notify clinic staff so that appointments can be scheduled for 15 minutes before the hour, or on the hour.
Departure points
Wellington Regional Hospital:outside the main entrance door.
Kenepuru Community Hospital: outside the main public entrance to the Accident and Medical Clinic.
Accessibility
Shuttle vans are not wheelchair accessible. If an accessible vehicle is required, let us know when you make your booking and we will try to arrange for this. Book at least 24 hours in advance.
Leaving a voicemail message does not guarantee your booking request. Call back to speak to an operator.
A Safe Kapiti (ASK) runs a health shuttle from Monday to Thursday. Drivers have had full official training and first aid training.
The service cannot accommodate a wheelchair so it is for people who:
are mobile and independent, or
only need some assistance from the driver to get in and out of the van.
Passengers are welcome to bring a support person with them.
The shuttle picks up people and drops them back home between Waikanae and Paekākāriki. People in Ōtaki can be picked up at the bus stop at Ngaio Road in Waikanae.
Booking
To book a seat on the Kapiti health shuttle freephone 0800 502 066external link extension 0. You can leave a voicemail message.
Bookings must be made 24 hours in advance — but if you require the shuttle on Monday it will need to be booked on the Thursday beforehand.
Appointment times
Patients are asked to make their appointments between 9:30am and 11:30am at Kenepuru Community Hospital.
Donations
The shuttle runs on donations. A suggested donation is $20 return trip. A receipt will be provided if required.
National Travel Assistance
The National Travel Assistance Scheme helps people who need to travel long distances or travel frequently for health appointments.
Poppies Café is located in the main entrance foyer and is open 7:30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
Vibe Café is located on the ground floor of Ward Block and is open 8am to 3pm, Monday to Friday. The seating area is available 24/7.
The chapel is open 8:30am to 4pm, weekdays.
Our chaplaincy staff can be contacted by pager through the hospital operator, or ask your nurse to contact us.
Chaplaincy staff:
Kath MacLean — pager 2725
Noel Tiano — pager 7543
Amy Finiki — pager 2808.
We are available for:
pastoral visits, counselling, prayer, and communion on request any time from the chaplains
blessings, funerals and weddings
worship services every Sunday at 9:30am, including communion — everybody is welcome
ward communions Thursday mornings at your bedside
chaplaincy assistant visits during the week.
There is a New Zealand Post box on site. The post box is collected each day at 2:30pm.
There is a quiet room on the first floor between wards 4 and 5. It is available to staff, patients or visitors who need a place for reflection, prayer or simply time out.
A similar room is available near the outpatients area on the ground floor.
Rooms are available on levels 1 and 2 for all whānau visiting people on the wards. They provide a space for larger gatherings.
Kenepuru Community Hospital is part of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) and these rooms also offer a quiet space for nursing mothers.
For patients staying overnight, free Wi-Fi is available. Connect to the 'DHBPatientWiFi' network and follow the instructions.
To save you repeating information to your doctor or health and disability services, use My Health Passport. It explains how you want them to communicate with you and help you.
Co-production, user experience testing and research
Co-production involves finding patients who can attend a meeting or series of meetings with the Disability team and other staff to develop a new service or way of working. Sometimes we also ask patients to give us feedback through user experience testing. If you would like to be included in co-production or user experience testing, we would love to hear from you.
If you are a researcher with disability expertise, let us know. We like to work with researchers who are familiar with the rights-based approach to disability. We frequently recommend potential researchers to other departments across the region.
people who do not speak English or do not speak it with confidence
people who communicate by sign language
when translation of written information (to or from English) is required
some interpreter services are available by telephone.
Let the service or ward know if you want to use an interpreter.
Sign language interpreter
You should use a qualified NZSL interpreter in any situations where you make important decisions. These situations include:
health consultations
assessments
treatments
discussions about which medicines you should have.
The department you are seeing will book the interpreter.
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora pays for interpreters for hospital appointments.
iSign pays for interpreters for:
GP (family doctor) appointments
ultrasound appointments
You can ask for an NZSL interpreter to be at your appointment. We do not recommend using a family member as an interpreter.
You can ask for a particular interpreter to be at your appointment. If the interpreter you want is not available, you can go ahead with the appointment with another interpreter. Otherwise, you can reschedule it for when the interpreter is available.
If you would like to book an interpreter yourself, contact iSign.
delaying the appointment until you can get an interpreter
using note writing, online videos, gestures, lip reading, or a family member or friend to interpret — these options can be risky, so only use them as a last resort.
We lend hospital equipment to patients to support their recovery, such as:
crutches
wheelchairs
bathroom chairs.
When we lend any equipment we will let you know when it needs to be returned. This date is agreed with your healthcare provider and is based on the time they estimate you will need it to support your recovery from illness, an accident or surgery.
There is no charge for equipment, or fee if they are returned late.
We appreciate people returning equipment when they no longer need them. This means they are on hand to lend to other patients who need them, and we do not have to spend money buying replacement items, which could spent on providing other health services to our communities.
You do not need to return any personal hospital equipment, such as:
moon boots
pressure bandages or strapping
linen.
You can dispose of these in your rubbish.
If you need your equipment for longer, or cannot return your equipment:
We will need the patient's name and the ward they are in.
Anything you send to a patient should be clearly marked with the patient's name and ward.
Send letters and parcels to:
Kenepuru Community Hospital PO Box 50215 Porirua 5240
Send flowers to:
Kenepuru Community Hospital 16 Hospital Drive Porirua 5022
The hospital and grounds are all smoke and vape free areas. If you are a patient we can help with nicotine replacement therapy.
Kenepuru Community Hospital is a place where staff, patients, whānau and friends work together to care for sick and injured people. We want a safe and calm environment for everyone. We have zero tolerance to violence, aggression or harassment of any kind towards staff, patients or visitors.
This includes:
intimidation or threats
swearing
shouting
racial or sexual comments
physical aggression towards people or property.
Please treat everyone with dignity and respect. We all share the same goal — to care for patients. Please treat all our patients, staff and visitors with respect and dignity.
Please respect our rules. These are required to ensure the best outcome for our patients.
Please talk to us if you are feeling frustrated or stressed. Patients get better faster when we use calm voices and work together as a team. Use our whānau spaces or take a break outside if you are overwhelmed.
We want our place to be a safe place for all. We are all responsible for making our place a safe place for everyone.
Ma tini, ma mano, ka rapa te whai — by joining together we will succeed.
If you need a wheelchair or help from an orderly, call us before your visit to arrange this on 04 385 5999external link extension 86100.
Feedback
How was the care you or your whānau received at our healthcare providers in Wellington, Hutt and Kapiti? We welcome feedback, compliments or complaints to help us get things right.