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. You can find it on Shakespeare Road, close to Lake Pupuke. The hospital is managed by Te Whatu Ora, which is New Zealand's health agency. It provides healthcare for people in the North Shore, Waitakere, and Rodney areas. Each year, the hospital's Emergency Department helps over 46,000 patients.
Contents
Hospital Facilities and Services
North Shore Hospital has many important facilities to help patients. It offers about 600 beds for different types of medical care and surgeries.
Operating Theatres and Emergency Care
The hospital has twelve operating theatres, which are special rooms for surgery. One of these is just for maternity care. There is also an Emergency Department for urgent medical needs. A 50-bed Assessment and Diagnostic Unit helps doctors quickly check patients. The hospital also has an intensive care centre for very sick patients.
Specialised Medical Units
North Shore Hospital has an Elective Surgery Centre for planned operations. It also has a coronary care unit for heart patients. For new mothers and babies, there is a maternity unit and a special care baby unit.
Other Health Services
The hospital offers many other services, including:
- Endoscopy (looking inside the body)
- radiology (X-rays and scans)
- pathology (studying diseases)
- anaesthetic (pain relief for surgery)
- gynecological (women's health)
- General surgery
- A cardiac catheter lab for heart procedures
- mental health services through special units called Marinoto and He Puna Waiora
Visiting specialists also offer care in many other medical areas. Two wards are set up to help older patients (over 65) with assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation.
Hospital Funding and Staffing
North Shore Hospital is a public hospital, which means it gets money from the government. Sometimes, the hospital has faced challenges with how busy it is and finding enough staff.
Patient Care and Capacity
In 2007, the hospital was often completely full, making it hard to find beds for new patients. This also made it difficult to hire enough staff. Some people thought this was because the North Shore area is quite wealthy. Hospitals often get funding based on the needs of the local population.
To help with overcrowding, North Shore Hospital opened an Assessment and Diagnostic Unit (ADU) in 2011. This unit was designed to help patients move through the Emergency Department faster. It also helped to increase the number of beds available.
Improving Patient Flow
These changes helped the hospital improve how quickly patients were seen and treated. For example, in 2009, about 61% of patients in the emergency department were admitted, discharged, or moved within six hours. By 2013, this improved a lot, with 95% of patients being helped within six hours. This shows the hospital's efforts to manage patient care effectively.
History of North Shore Hospital
North Shore Hospital has grown a lot since it first opened.
Early Beginnings
The hospital first opened in 1956. Back then, it was mainly a maternity hospital for new mothers and babies. It also had a small emergency department.
Becoming a General Hospital
The main Tower Block of North Shore Hospital was officially opened on April 2, 1984. The Prime Minister at the time, Rt Hon David Lange, opened it. After this, the hospital became a general hospital, offering many more types of medical care.
New Centres and Services
In November 2011, the Lakeview Cardiology Centre opened. This centre provides special care for heart patients. In 2013, the Elective Surgery Centre was opened by the Minister of Health, Tony Ryall. This centre is for patients who need planned surgeries.
