Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley

The Intensive Care Unit in Wellington Regional Hospital provides tertiary critical care to the lower North and upper South Islands. The Unit is one of the busiest in the country, admitting over 2000 patients per year. These include cardiothoracic, neurosurgical, vascular, paediatric, and major trauma patients as well as support for general and subspecialty medical patients (haematology, oncology, renal, respiratory). The ICU also operates an aeromedical retrieval service, carrying out more than 1000 missions every year. A new High Dependency Unit will open in 2024, adding an additional 12 beds to the current 24-bed ICU capacity.

Hutt Hospital provides secondary ICU and tertiary burns care for the region, admitting over 700 patients each year.

Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley District

Located in the lower North Island of New Zealand, the district is bordered by the Tararua Ranges to the east, and the Cook Strait to the south opening to the Tasman Sea to the West. Porirua, Kapiti and Hutt Valley are areas north of Wellington.

New Zealand’s Capital City, Wellington, has a thriving arts, culture, food and drink scene, with a number of museums, galleries, theatres, cafes, restaurants and bars. The city is also home to some of our best craft breweries and coffee roasteries. It is surrounded by hills and harbour, providing a lifestyle where you can easily access the many outdoor activities, from hiking to mountain biking, cycling to fishing, paragliding to sailing.

Health New Zealand | Capital, Coast & Hutt Valley

The Capital, Coast, and Hutt Valley district is situated in the heart of Wellington. With approximately 7,000 full-time equivalent employees, we are one of the largest employers in the region. The hospitals, including Wellington Regional Hospital, Hutt Valley Hospital, and Kenepuru Hospital, provide healthcare services to around 445,000 individuals. As well as Kāpiti Health Centre located in Paraparaumu.

Wellington Hospital is the Wellington Region's main tertiary hospital, with services such as complex specialist and acute (tertiary) services, procedures and treatments such as the Intensive Care Unit, cardiac surgery, cancer care, cardiology procedures, neurosurgery, and renal care. The hospital is a tertiary referral centre for the lower half of the North Island and the top of the South Island.
It is a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Otago, and the medical and health sciences campus is situated on site.

Hutt Hospital has 322 beds and provides maternity, geriatric, surgical, mental health, medical, children's health, psychogeriatric services as well as being the regional centre for burns and plastic.

  • Wellington City

    The main tertiary hospital in the region is Wellington Regional Hospital, located in Newtown. This hospital provides a range of specialised services including complex procedures, intensive care, cardiac surgery, cancer care, neurosurgery, and renal care. It serves as the primary referral centre for the lower half of the North Island and the upper half of the South Island.

    Te Wao Nui is a Child Health Service located in the Wellington Region and Central New Zealand. It operates from a newly constructed children's hospital on the Wellington campus. The service caters to infants, children, and adolescents who have medical conditions or require paediatric surgery. Te Wao Nui offers both inpatient and outpatient services to meet the healthcare needs of these young patients.

    The Women's Health Services in Wellington and Hutt Regional Hospitals, along with the Primary Birthing Unit in Kenepuru, offer tertiary level maternity care. These services include community-based primary LMC care, breastfeeding support, and specialized services in obstetrics, gynaecology, and other areas.

  • Hutt City

    The Hutt Hospital offers secondary and some tertiary medical and surgical services, as well as community-based healthcare. The hospital not only provides funding to local health providers but also works together with the community to develop and support various health education initiatives and projects. Hutt Hospital serves as the main centre for five tertiary regional and sub-regional services, which include Plastics, Maxillofacial and Burns Services, Rheumatology, Dental Services, Regional Public Health, and Regional Screening Services for Breast and Cervical health.

  • Porirua and Kapiti Coast

    Kenepuru Community Hospital and Kapiti Health Centre provide secondary and community services based in Porirua and the Kapiti Coast.

    MHAIDS is the mental health, addictions and intellectual disability service for the Wairarapa District and Capital, Coast & Hutt Valley District, with multiple specialist facilities. Ratonga Rua-o-Porirua is our forensic, rehabilitation and intellectual disability inpatient unit.

Local Information

Getting around

  • The Wellington Region has an excellent public transport service, the most used in New Zealand, with a network of trains, buses and ferries. The four train lines connect the main centres to Wellington, through our inner suburbs, out to the Kapiti Coast and through the Hutt Valley. All our suburbs have bus services, with an increasing proportion of electric buses. You can find out about routes, ticket prices and timetables online at metlink. Most travel can be paid for using a single ticket card called Snapper.  

  • Taxis and ride sharing services Uber, Ola and Zoomy also operate in the main centres and of course rental vehicles are also available.

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