Bigger and better ICU for Wellington

Bigger and better ICU for Wellington

One of the country’s busiest intensive care units will be expanded to enable nearly 100 additional complex surgeries per year.

Capital & Coast DHB has approved a multi-million dollar expansion of Wellington Regional Hospital’s ICU from 18 to 24 beds. Building work will begin this year, and the expansion is expected to be completed by July 2018.

“Wellington Regional Hospital provides tertiary ICU services for the lower North Island and Upper South Island, and we are one of the busiest ICUs in the country,” said ICU clinical lead Dr Peter Hicks.

“We currently have around 1500 ICU admissions each year – more than half of which are from other DHBs – and demand keeps increasing.”

As well as patients with urgent life-saving needs, the ICU also cares for patients who have had complicated elective procedures such as heart valve replacements and cancer surgeries.

“We need to put the needs of urgent patients first, so there are times when complicated elective surgeries are deferred because we don’t have an ICU bed for the patient to use after surgery.

“This expansion will help us deliver more complex elective surgeries, and continue providing life-saving services into the future.”

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