Intensive Care Unit

Whangārei Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a Level 2 Unit. This means the ICU offers intensive care to a level that provides ventilation, renal replacement therapy, and can support patients with multi-organ failure.

ICU admits around 650 patients per year, with this number increasing annually. The Unit cares for both adult and paediatric (children) patients with medical, surgical and trauma diagnoses. ICU also offer High Dependency (HDU) care to these patients.

Patients who require more complex surgery or intensive care intervention are flown to a Level 3 Unit, usually the Department of Critical Care in Auckland and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Auckland.

ICU also operate a flight retrieval team from the unit. The team retrieves critically ill patients from Northlands peripheral hospitals and also transfers this category of patients to tertiary hospitals in Auckland and occasionally Waikato.

Critically ill patients are admitted under the Speciality Consultant, but the ICU Consultants direct care whilst the patient requires intensive care. Patients admitted as HDU have shared care, with the ICU doctors working with the speciality doctors to provide a step-down level of care.

Formal ICU rounds occur twice a day at 8.00am and 4.30pm, seven days per week. These are run with morning and afternoon/night medical teams, Clinical Nurse Manager and/or shift co-ordinator and in the morning with the physiotherapist and dietician. There is 24 hour, 7 days a week ICU Consultant and Registrar cover to the unit.

As with other Intensive Care Units in New Zealand, the Unit offers an organ donation service with support from the transplant coordinators in Auckland.

Hours

10.30am - 2.30pm and 4.00pm - 8.00pm

Please Note: Check the current Visitor Policy.
Other arrangements regarding visiting patients within the unit must be made via consultation with the clinical nurse manager.

Location

Ground Floor, Whangārei Hospital

Contact

Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Whangārei Hospital
Private Bag 9742
Whangārei
Ph: 09 430 4100