Whangārei Hospital Department of Anaesthesia
The Whangārei Hospital Anaesthetic Department is the largest department within the Surgical Service at Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau. It provides a 24 hour, 7 days per week service to Whangārei Hospital and oversight to specialist anaesthetists employed at Kaitaia Hospital.
Core business: the provision of elective and acute anaesthesia services to the patients of Northland. Anaesthetists are involved with:
- Anaesthesia within the operating theatres
- Pre-anaesthetic assessment clinics
- Acute and chronic pain services
- Obstetric epidurals
- Procedures in departments such as medicine, radiology, emergency care and Post Anaesthetic Care Unit (PACU)
- High risk anaesthetic clinic
Some of our Anaesthetists, who are dual trained in Intensive Care Medicine, provide Intensive Care (ICU), High Dependency Care (HDU) and retrieval services for the management and care of Northland patients.
The Department employs specialist anaesthetists, MOSS anaesthetists and anaesthesia trainees and technicians, pain nurse specialists and pre-assessment nurse specialists.
As an Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) Training Institution, adherence to Australasian standards is reviewed by ANZCA on a regular basis. These standards cover all aspects of anaesthesia care, both clinical and non-clinical, e.g. equipment, support staff, teaching and training.