Paediatrics — Nelson Marlborough

Nelson Hospital

Tipahi Street
Nelson 7010
Phone: 03 546 1800

Wairau Hospital

Hospital Road
Blenheim 7201
Phone: 03 520 9999

Paediatric services are available at Nelson Hospital and Wairau Hospital.

Inpatient wards cater for all paediatric admissions, from 0 years to 15 years, including:

• acute
• booked
• medical
• surgical
• day stays.

Your stay in hospital (internal link)

In both hospitals, tamariki and rangatahi in these units are cared for by the admitting consultant from any of the inpatient or outpatient specialities.

Tamariki and rangatahi under the care of paediatricians make up approximately half of admissions to these units.

Nelson Hospital paediatric department

Nelson Hospital paediatric department is a 12-bed facility providing acute and elective paediatric medical and surgical inpatient care.

It is located on Level 2 near the hospital cafeteria. The inpatient service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The facility has space for whānau staying with their tamariki, and spaces for play.

The paediatric outpatient and paediatric outreach nursing service are located on the Braemar campus across the road from the Nelson Hospital. The outpatient service is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Wairau Hospital paediatric department

Wairau Hospital paediatric department is a 5-bed, 3-cot inpatient facility for neonatal and paediatric patients including acute and elective medical and surgical inpatient care.

The ward has a colocated outpatient department for those who do not need admission and for ambulatory assessments (observing someone's behaviour during their normal daily activities). The paediatric nursing outreach service and outpatient nurses are based here.

The paediatric department is located in the hospital beside the maternity service. Inpatient services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Outpatient services are available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. The outreach nursing service is available 9am to 3pm.

Visiting hours

Paediatric care is whānau-centred so parents and primary caregivers can visit 24 hours a day. Other friends and whānau may visit 8am to 8pm.

Whānau support

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to stay with their tamaiti. It is an important part of the child's recovery to have a familiar member of the family present and helping to care for them.

Some fold-down beds and recliner chairs are available for one parent or caregiver to sleep beside their child's bed.

Occasionally the ward becomes extremely busy and may run out of beds or chairs. When this happens the nurses will make every attempt to make parents or caregivers as comfortable as possible.

All meals are supplied for your tamaiti. A breakfast and evening meal is provided for one whānau support person.

Paediatric outreach nursing service

Referrals to the paediatric outreach nursing service are made through secondary or tertiary specialists only. The paediatric outreach nursing service provides an extension of hospital-based care to whānau-centred care in the home.

For example, care and support for:

• chronic illnesses
• complex medication requirements, such as taking multiple medications at the same time
• disabilities
• short-term surgical follow-up.

The service is provided by experienced paediatric nurses with strong links to primary healthcare providers, community groups, and tertiary centres.

Paediatric outreach clinics
 
Paediatric sub-specialists not employed directly by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora deliver tertiary paediatric health services.

Tamariki benefit from these services through outreach clinics in their region or by travelling to a tertiary hospital to receive care.

Both Nelson Hospital and Wairau Hospital provide outpatient clinic rooms where children and their whānau can see a secondary care consultant for a wide range of child and youth conditions. These clinics re open every day, 9am to 5pm.

Outreach clinics are in Nelson or Marlborough for:

• clinical genetics
• cystic fibrosis
• paediatric cardiology
• paediatric gastroenterology
• paediatric nephrology
• paediatric neurology
• paediatric oncology
• paediatric rheumatology
• paediatric surgery
• paediatric urology.

Tertiary services are provided by Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.

Patients are referred to the paediatric department by healthcare providers such as:

• GPs
• senior consultants
• emergency department
• midwives
• child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS).

A select number of tamariki and rangatahi with complex or chronic medical problems such as asthma, diabetes, cancer and mental health conditions have direct access to care as directed by their paediatrician.

All patients are assessed by a registered nurse on arrival in the paediatric department and then seen by a doctor.