The Southern Charity Hospital currently offers the following services:

  • Colonoscopy
  • Dentistry

More information for health professionals – Colonoscopy
More information for health professionals – Dentistry
More information for patients

Information for Patients

The Southern Charity Hospital was established by a trust in 2019 to provide FREE elective day surgery for those in our Otago and Southland community who can’t access these services because they:

  • Don’t qualify for the public health waiting list
  • Have exhausted their Dental Entitlement for the year through WINZ (Dentistry only)
  • Don’t have medical insurance and
  • Don’t have any other means of covering the cost of their treatment.

Our day surgery services include:

  • Colonoscopy
  • Dentistry

Why are our services free?

Thanks to our wonderful team of unpaid volunteer surgeons, nurses, clinicians and other support staff, we can offer these free services to the people of Otago and Southland.

We rely on funding from a range of trusts and organisations, along with fundraising and donations from the public. We receive no government funding.

How do you access these services?

  • You will need a referral from a health professional, which could be a GP/family doctor/nurse practitioner/dentist, health worker at a community organisation, etc.
  • You will also need to provide some background information on your financial situation and complete a patient declaration form.

Information for Health Professionals – Colonoscopy

Referral form
Referral and Declaration Form

Note: The Southern Charity Hospital is unable to offer a diagnostic service for the investigation of abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

Patient criteria

Any patient you refer must meet our criteria and the patient referral declaration form is your guide to determining eligibility. The patient must meet both clinical and financial requirements of the Trust. If your patient fits our criteria then we would be pleased to offer them FREE treatment at our facility.

Documents required for referral

  • Referral and Declaration Form
  • Referral letter containing clinical history
  • Decline letter from DHB

Note: Referrals can be sent to referrals@sch.nz or submitted online through ERMS.

Our services operate on the basis of goodwill and the flexibility of volunteer staff. It is expected that referrers work with the trust to provide the best outcomes for our patients. Southern Charity Hospital is a day stay charitable facility; we do not have overnight care facilities on site.

Our service availability fluctuates depending on the number of volunteer staff available at a given time. We are closed over the Christmas holiday period, weekends and public holidays.

Information for Health Professionals – Dentistry

Referral forms
Dental Referral and Declaration Form
Dental OHIP Questionnaire

Note: The Southern Charity Hospital provides the following dental procedures: fillings/restorations, simple extractions, root canals (front six teeth only).

Patient criteria

Any patient you refer must meet our criteria and the patient referral declaration form is your guide to determining eligibility. The patient must be 18 years of age or older and meet both clinical and financial requirements of the Trust. If your patient receives a WINZ benefit, they will need to have exhausted their Dental Entitlement for the year to be eligible for treatment

at the Southern Charity Hospital. If your patient fits our criteria then we would be pleased to offer them FREE treatment at our facility.

Documents required for referral

  • Dental Referral and Declaration Form
  • Dental OHIP Questionnaire
  • Referral letter containing clinical history and X-rays/photos if available.

Note: Referrals can be sent to referrals@sch.nz or submitted online through ERMS.

Our services operate on the basis of goodwill and the flexibility of volunteer staff. It is expected that referrers work with the trust to provide the best outcomes for our patients. Southern Charity Hospital is a day stay charitable facility; we do not have overnight care facilities on site.

Our service availability fluctuates depending on the number of volunteer staff available at a given time. We are closed over the Christmas holiday period, weekends and public holidays.