Waikato Hospital facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Waikato Hospital
Waikato Hospital seen across Hamilton Lake.
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; 138 years ago (1886-12-01)

Waikato Hospital is a really important hospital in Hamilton, New Zealand. It helps people with special health needs and emergencies. Patients come here from other hospitals in the Waikato area, like Whakatāne, Tauranga, and Rotorua.

What Waikato Hospital Does

Waikato Hospital is a big place! It has over 750 beds for patients. More than 6,000 people work here. They help plan and provide health services for over 370,000 people in the Waikato region.

Special Medical Services

The hospital offers many different types of medical care. Here are some of the special services they provide:

Trauma and Burns Care

Waikato Hospital is the main place for treating serious injuries in the area. It's easy for patients to get there quickly by road or air ambulance. This means people can get help in less than an hour from anywhere in the region.

The hospital also has one of New Zealand's four special burns units. This unit helps people with severe burns from the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, and Taranaki areas.

Mental Health Services

Waikato Hospital has several special buildings for mental health care.

Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre

The Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre is where people go for inpatient mental health care. It has seven secure wards. Some of these wards provide mental health services for people involved with the Department of Corrections. In 2019, the New Zealand Government announced plans to fund a new building for this center.

Puna Whiti

Puna Whiti is a small ward that helps mental health patients get better and learn skills for daily life. It is located near the Henry Bennett Centre and can care for 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 connected to the main hospital by a special bridge. Ward OPR1 in this building has 15 beds.

Learning and Research

Waikato Hospital is also a teaching hospital. It works with the University of Auckland to train future doctors and health workers. There's a special place called the Bryant Education Centre for training. The hospital also does research with the Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre and the University of Waikato.

Other Support Services

The hospital has five chaplains who offer support and counseling to patients and their families. Volunteers also help them. The hospital also runs 'Hilda Ross House', which is like a hotel for patients and their families.

Hospital History

The first brick ward of Waikato Hospital began construction on July 1, 1905. Andrew Primrose, a local leader, laid the foundation stone. The hospital needed to expand because more people needed care than the old building could hold.

During the ceremony, Andrew Primrose received a special silver trowel. It had an engraving that said:

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.

The silver trowel given to Andrew Primrose on July 1, 1905.

An important plastic surgeon named Sir Archibald McIndoe trained at Waikato Hospital. He later became famous for his work helping people with severe injuries. Mary Reidy was also a key person who helped keep the hospital going.