North Shore Hospital facts for kids
Quick facts for kids North Shore Hospital |
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| Te Whatu Ora | |
View of North Shore Hospital across the adjacent Lake Pupuke
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| Geography | |
| Location | North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 36°46′52″S 174°45′27″E / 36.781139°S 174.757397°E |
| Organisation | |
| Funding | Public hospital |
| Hospital type | Teaching |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes |
| Beds | 663 |
| Speciality | Tertiary care |
| History | |
| Founded | 1956 as a maternity hospital, 1984 as tertiary hospital |
North Shore Hospital is a big public hospital in Takapuna, New Zealand. It helps people living in the northern parts of Auckland. The hospital is located near Lake Pupuke and is run by Te Whatu Ora. It provides important health services to many communities. Every year, the Emergency Department helps over 46,000 people who need urgent care.
Contents
What the Hospital Offers
North Shore Hospital has many different areas to help patients. It has about 600 beds for people needing surgery or general medical care.
Special Treatment Areas
- The hospital has twelve operating rooms for surgeries. One is just for mothers having babies.
- There is an Emergency Department for urgent medical problems.
- An Assessment and Diagnostic Unit helps figure out what's wrong quickly.
- An Intensive Care Centre looks after very sick patients.
- The Elective Surgery Centre is for planned operations.
- A Coronary Care Unit helps people with heart issues.
- There is also a special unit for new mothers and babies. This includes a special care baby unit for tiny or sick newborns.
Other Health Services
The hospital also offers many other services. These include:
- Endoscopy, which uses a tiny camera to look inside the body.
- Radiology, using X-rays and scans to see inside.
- Pathology, which studies diseases.
- Anaesthetic services to help patients sleep during surgery.
- Gynaecological services for women's health.
- General surgery for many different operations.
- A cardiac catheter lab for heart procedures.
- Mental health services through special units called Marinoto and He Puna Waiora.
Doctors who specialize in many other medical areas also visit the hospital. Two wards are just for older patients over 65. They help with assessment, treatment, and getting back on their feet.
How the Hospital Works
North Shore Hospital is a very busy place. In 2007, it was often completely full. It was also hard to find enough staff. This was partly because the area around the hospital is quite wealthy. Hospitals get funding based on different factors. Some people felt North Shore Hospital received less money than other hospitals for the number of people it served.
Improving Patient Care
To help with overcrowding, North Shore Hospital opened a new Assessment and Diagnostic Unit (ADU) in 2011. This unit was designed to help patients move through the Emergency Department faster. It also added more beds for patients who needed to stay.
These changes helped a lot. In 2009, about 61% of patients left the Emergency Department within six hours. By 2013, this improved to 95% of patients leaving within six hours.
In 2024, the hospital was still very busy. Sometimes, patients in the Emergency Department had to wait in corridors. This was often because there were not enough beds ready for them. The hospital continues to work hard to help everyone who needs care.
Hospital History
North Shore Hospital has grown a lot over the years.
North Shore Hospital first opened in 1956. Back then, it was mainly a maternity hospital for mothers and babies. It also had a small emergency department.
The main Tower Block of North Shore Hospital was officially opened on April 2, 1984. The Prime Minister at the time, David Lange, opened it. After this, the hospital became a general hospital that could handle more serious medical cases.
In November 2011, the Lakeview Cardiology Centre opened. This centre helps people with heart conditions.
The Elective Surgery Centre was opened in 2013 by the Minister of Health, Tony Ryall. This centre is for planned surgeries.
