Northland DHB gets $24m for endoscopy, cardiac services at Whangārei Hospital

Andrew Potts, Whangārei Hospital's general manager of surgical, pathology and ambulatory services, has welcomed $24 million of government funding that will lead to more surgery.

Northland District Health Board has been given $24 million for new endoscopy and cardiac care facilities for Whangārei Hospital that will reduce waiting times and lead to more vital surgery.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister David Clarke yesterday announced funding boosts for North Shore and Whangārei Hospitals worth $224 million.

North Shore Hospital will get $200 million for 120 additional elective surgery beds and four new operating theatres. Whangārei Hospital will reconfigure its existing theatre to expand endoscopy services.

Ardern said more patients would receive the surgery they needed after the extra funding.

"It's a priority of the Coalition Government to improve the wellbeing of all New Zealanders and their families and access to quality healthcare is a key part of that. This investment will make a real difference to patients and their families and to staff working at the frontline after years of underfunding of facilities in the northern region,'' she said.

"These projects will ensure the people of Auckland and Northland receive the high-quality hospital care they deserve."

Andrew Potts, general manager of surgical, pathology and ambulatory services at Whangārei Hospital, said the funding would allow the health board to expand the number of operating theatres from six to eight and enable the growing number of patients requiring acute surgery to be treated without undue delay.

''It will also mean the DHB is able to increase the amount of elective surgical treatment it is able to provide. This will benefit patients who, for example, require joint replacement, cataract, or hernia repair surgery but are currently unable to access publicly funded treatment or experience excessive waiting time for treatment,'' Potts said.

''Over recent years, growth in acute surgery has meant more and more of the operating theatre capacity at Whangārei Hospital has had to be used for acute surgery, with a consequent reduction in the amount of elective surgery provided. Every week dozens of patients require access to publicly funded surgery while at present around 500 patients accepted for surgery have waited more than four months for surgery.''

He said the provision of a dedicated and purpose-built endoscopy suite at Whangārei Hospital would greatly improve the experience of patients undergoing endoscopic investigations, which are used to diagnose bowel, stomach, and lung cancers.

The new facility has been designed to enable staff to ensure the experience of patients is as comfortable as possible and that more procedures can be performed in the endoscopy sessions.

This will help the endoscopy team reduce the currently excessive waiting times for these important investigations.

''Having two procedure rooms which are used only for endoscopy will also allow more sessions to be commissioned to meet the growing demand for endoscopy and to allow Northland to introduce bowel screening from July 2020,'' Potts said.

Northland DHB submitted business cases for a number of projects seen as critical in creating adequate capacity while a redevelopment of Whangārei Hospital is planned.

These projects include a Whangārei Hospital theatre extension, a new endoscopy suite and cardiac catheter laboratory. The interim work will enable Northland DHB to meet demand over the next five to 10 years.

Northland DHB is experiencing unprecedented growth for acute medical and surgical services. To meet demand pressures while Whangārei Hospital is redeveloped, temporary theatre capacity is critical, as is a separate endoscopy suite.