Waikato Hospital facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Waikato Hospital |
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Waikato Hospital seen across Hamilton Lake.
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| Geography | |
| Location | Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Public |
| Hospital type | Tertiary teaching hospital, base hospital for the Waikato region |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes |
| Beds | 759 |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 December 1886 |
Waikato Hospital is a very important hospital in Hamilton, New Zealand. It helps people from a wide area, including the Waikato and Midlands regions. Patients often come here from other hospitals like those in Whakatāne, Tauranga, Thames, Tokoroa, and Rotorua. The hospital offers special medical care and emergency services.
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What Waikato Hospital Does
Waikato Hospital is a big place with many people working there. Over 6,000 staff members help plan and provide health services. They look after more than 370,000 people in a large part of New Zealand.
The hospital offers many different types of special medical care, including:
- Anaesthesiology (making you sleep for surgery)
- Cardiac surgery / cardiology (heart care)
- Dermatology (skin care)
- Emergency medicine (urgent care)
- Endocrinology (hormone and gland care)
- Gastroenterology (stomach and gut care)
- General surgery (common operations)
- Gynaecology (women's health)
- Haematology (blood care)
- Intensive care (for very sick patients)
- Neonatal intensive care (for sick newborns)
- Neurology (brain and nerve care)
- Neurosurgery (brain and nerve surgery)
- Obstetrics (care during pregnancy and childbirth)
- Oncology (cancer care)
- Ophthalmology (eye care)
- Orthopedic surgery (bone and joint surgery)
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery (mouth and jaw surgery)
- Otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat care)
- Paediatric surgery (children's surgery)
- Paediatrics (children's health)
- Plastic surgery (reconstructive surgery)
- Psychiatry (mental health care)
- Radiology (X-rays and scans)
- Renal care (kidney care)
- Respiratory care (lung and breathing care)
- Urological care (urinary system care)
- Vascular surgery (blood vessel surgery)
This hospital is the main place for treating serious injuries in the area. It's easy to get patients there quickly. They use roads and even air ambulances (helicopters or planes). This means patients can arrive in less than an hour from anywhere in the region.
Waikato Hospital also has one of New Zealand's four special units for treating severe burns. This unit mostly helps patients from the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, and Taranaki areas.
Mental Health Services
Waikato Hospital has special units for mental health care.
Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre
The Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre is a unit for mental health patients who need to stay in the hospital. It is located right on the Waikato Hospital site. This centre has seven secure wards. Some of these wards provide mental health services for people involved with the justice system.
Puna Whiti
Puna Whiti is a smaller ward that helps mental health patients get better and learn new skills. It is located near the Henry Bennett Centre. It can look after five patients at a time.
Older Persons and Rehabilitation Building
This building is designed to help older people with their mental health and rehabilitation needs. It is across the road from the main hospital. A special bridge connects it to the main hospital buildings. This ward has 15 beds.
Learning and Research
Waikato Hospital is also a place for learning. It has a special part of the University of Auckland's medical school. This means it helps train new doctors and other health workers. There is a dedicated building called the Bryant Education Centre for this training. The hospital also works with the Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre and the University of Waikato to do important research.
The hospital also has five chaplains. They offer support and advice to patients and their families. Volunteers also help them. The hospital also runs 'Hilda Ross House', which is like a hotel for patients' families.
Hospital History
The first brick building of Waikato Hospital started being built a long time ago. The first stone was laid on July 1, 1905. A man named Andrew Primrose laid the stone. The hospital needed to grow because many more people needed care than it could hold.
During the ceremony, Mr. Primrose was given a special silver trowel. It had this message engraved on it:
Presented to Andrew Primrose, Esq., J.P., for the purpose of laying the foundation stone of the Waikato Hospital, Hamilton, from Messers Russell and Bagnell, July 1st, 1905.
An important plastic surgeon named Sir Archibald McIndoe worked at Waikato Hospital early in his career. He later became very famous for his work in the US and UK. Mary Reidy was also a key person who helped make sure the hospital continued to serve the community.
