Northland

Whangārei Intensive Care Unit is an eight bedded critical care unit that provides critical care services to Te Tai Tokerau Northland. This includes the peripheral hospitals located at Kaitaia, Dargaville and Kawakawa.

Situated within the Whangārei base hospital, which serves as the regional trauma centre for Northland, the ICU offers advanced respiratory, cardiovascular, and renal support for both adult and paediatric patients. Annually, they admit approximately 500-600 patients, with about 20% being paediatric cases.

Paediatric critical care services are coordinated with the local paediatrician, and when necessary, patients may be transferred to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Starship Hospital in Auckland.

The Northland Region

Te Tai Tokerau Northland, is situated in the northernmost part of the North Island, is home to a population of just over 200,000 residents. Renowned for its stunning landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and inviting subtropical climate, the region holds a special allure.

Particularly notable is the Bay of Islands, a cherished tourist destination within Aotearoa, New Zealand. Here, visitors are treated to a wealth of natural wonders, including beaches, ancient forests and significant historical sites. Whangārei in particular, boasts more than 100 picturesque beaches from long sweeps of ocean surf to sandy Pōhutukawa-fringed bays.

Health New Zealand | Te Tai Tokerau | Northland

The Northland Region ICU, located in Whangārei, is equipped with a telemedicine link to peripheral hospitals, enabling critical care support to be provided to rural clinicians and their patients.

Whangārei ICU also operates a flight transfer service utilising both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft to transfer critically ill patients from peripheral Northland hospitals to Whangārei. If necessary, patients can then be transferred onward to tertiary centres in Te Toka Tumai Auckland, where vascular, neurosurgery and cardiac surgery services are available.
The ICU flight team is comprised of a registrar and flight nurse and all requests for aeromedical transfers are triaged by the on call ICU consultant. A nurse-only flight retrieval service is also based in the ICU, providing non-urgent fixed wing transfers within Northland and repatriation services from other regions of New Zealand.

Whangārei ICU is also home to the Patient at Risk Team. A team of clinical nurse specialists who support the care of ‘at risk’ or ‘deteriorating patients’ and their clinical team through the utilisation of specialist nursing knowledge and skill to optimise the patient journey and improve health outcomes. These roles provide critical support during clinical emergencies within Whangārei Hospital and remote support for the peripheral hospitals.

Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau employs over 4,000 staff. Acute services are provided through the districts' four hospitals, situated in Whangārei, Dargaville, Kawakawa and Kaitaia, with elective surgery performed at Whangārei and Kaitaia.

Supporting these services is a network of community-based, outpatient, and mental health services, along with various allied health services and a public and population health unit. While some specialist services, such as radiation treatment and neurology, are offered through Auckland or via visiting specialists to Northland.

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