Children’s ED project gets $50k injection
Plans to create a child-friendly emergency room at Palmerston North Hospital have received a $50,000 boost from the Horowhenua New Zealand Trust.
The $250,000 children’s ED is the first project being supported by the newly created Palmerston North Hospital Foundation.
It would be created in a part of the ED that is currently used as an observation area.
This will become free when two new additions to the emergency department are completed about the end of the year.
Te Whatu Ora MidCentral director and paediatrician Jeff Brown said an emergency department full of trauma patients, distressed people and some under the influence of drugs and alcohol could be a frightening place for children.
He said providing an environment suitable for children’s physical and emotional needs would help meet obligations spelt out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Brown said he expected the renovations to be carried out over a few weeks early next year.
The initial concept design has been completed, and the project has moved into the preliminary design phase, including a comprehensive costing exercise.
Trustee Larry Ellison said the children’s ED would make an enormous difference for children and families travelling to Palmerston North for emergency care.
Te-Aroha Jennings, a fellow trustee, said it was particularly important for families leaving local supporters behind when they had to go to the city.
‘‘As a parent of young children, this project really resonates with me. In my experience it’s usually late at night or on the weekend when you have to take your child to ED, and if you have other children, you’ve probably had to leave your partner or support person home with them.’’
She said the dedicated whā naufocused space would help ease the anxiety and separation.
Palmerston North Hospital Foundation chairperson Brendan Duffy, a former Horowhenua mayor and district health board chairperson, said he hoped the trust’s donation would encourage others to give to the cause.
‘‘It’s heartening to have the support of the Horowhenua NZ Trust who recognise the regional benefit this project will deliver and the difference it will make for thousands of families who use the hospital each year,’’ Duffy said.
The foundation has not released details of how much funding it has amassed for the project except to say there had been 14 donations that would make up a large portion of the estimated cost.