Operating theatres welcomed
Northlanders will no longer have to travel to Auckland for lifesaving procedures like angiograms, angioplasty and the insertion of pacemakers, thanks to two new operating theatres and a cardiac catheter lab at Whangarei Hospital.
“This not only reduces the need to travel to Auckland for procedures, it means fewer delays to treatment and more positive health outcomes,” said Northland DHB chief executive Dr Nick Chamberlain.
Health Minister Andrew Little unveiled the cardiac catheter laboratory and two operating theatres yesterday morning. There was a dawn blessing of the facilities, followed by speeches and a plaque unveiling from Little.
Whangarei Hospital is Northland DHB’s largest and provides secondary specialist care to all of Te Tai Tokerau. The hospital currently has seven operating theatres, which will now increase to nine, along with 246 inpatient beds. There was also much excitement about the opening of the catheter laboratory and its potential to attract highly-skilled workers to the region.
“Prior to this, we couldn’t attract young hotshots. Now we are getting fantastic applicants for all our cardiology roles,” said Chamberlain.
Both the lab and new operating theatres are due to be operational by July. The budget for the two projects, plus an endoscopy facility opened last year, was $24 million. The projects were funded out of a $750m investment in health infrastructure in Budget 2018.
The new facilities are only part of the Government’s plan to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Te Tai Tokerau. Other ongoing projects include the Bay of Islands Hospital redevelopment, Kaitaia Hospital remediation, a Linear Accelerator bunker and equipment at Whangarei Hospital to provide radiation treatment for people with cancer, and buses to provide mobile surgical and lithotripsy services.