Children's Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
What is a Paediatric Emergency Department?
The Starship Paediatric Emergency Department is the only dedicated Children's Emergency Department in New Zealand and we are designed to focus exclusively on the needs of children.
We specialise in meeting the needs of acutely ill or injured children and young people. The children and young people seen within the Department range from birth to their fifteenth birthday from the Auckland region. Some young people over fifteen and under a specialist paediatric service also have acute illness catered for within the Department.
The Department sees approximately 32,000 children and young people per year.
The Department works within a multidisciplinary framework that includes Maori support workers, Pacific Island support workers, play specialists, social workers and clerical staff who work closely with the nursing and medical teams.
The types of illness or injuries treated are varied, with the most common being: asthma, bronchiolitis, gastro-enteritis, poisoning, head injury, croup, convulsions, fractures and minor surgical conditions. Cellulitis – infection of the skin – has become one of the most common reasons for presentation. The service also has regular large epidemics of immunisation-preventable diseases like whooping cough and measles.
Staff
Medical - there is at least one registrar (trainee specialist) and one house officer in the Department at all times. There is a specialist in the Department from 8am to midnight, 7 days a week, and on-call outside these hours.
Nursing - there are at least 4 staff nurses on duty at all times, with greater numbers during busy periods.
Play Therapy - available in the afternoon and evening.
Clerical - there is 24 hour clerical support.
Support - Kai Atawhai (Maori support workers) and Pacific Island support workers, social workers, interpreters and patient advocates are available.
Research
The Children's Emergency Department is actively involved in training and research. Research is conducted in order to improve the medical care of children and young people. We will always ask your permission before including your child in any training or research activity.
If you prefer not to be involved in this activity it will not affect your treatment in any way.
On arrival at the Children's Emergency Department you/your child will be assessed by a triage nurse so we can estimate how urgently you/your child needs to be seen.
As a Hospital Emergency Department we see the most severely ill and injured children first. This means that children are not necessarily seen in order of arrival. We try to see patients as quickly as possible but there is usually at least a one hour wait to see a doctor.
Children who are waiting will be monitored by nursing staff.
After the initial assessment and treatment, patients may be admitted to the hospital, transferred to another hospital or discharged.
There are NO hospital charges unless you are a non-resident of New Zealand.
Non-resident fees are determined by the type of condition requiring investigation and treatment and the country where you reside.
The Children's Emergency Department does not have set visiting hours. It is generally most appropriate for children to be accompanied by their immediate family only. It is often necessary to restrict visitor numbers to protect other patients' privacy and to enable treatments to be completed.
Parking at the Auckland City Hospital site is limited. There is a drop off area at the entrance to Children's Emergency Department.
http://www.starship.org.nz/index.php/pi_pageid/1337#Parking
There is an outpatient pharmacy on the Grafton site that is open during usual office hours.
Children's Emergency Department staff will be able to provide a list of extended hours pharmacies if required.
