National Women's Hospital

Auckland City Hospital
Auckland District Health Board
The new 2003 section of the hospital
Geography
Location	Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand
Organisation
Funding	Public hospital
History
Founded	1846
Links
Website	Official Website
Lists	Hospitals in New Zealand

The Auckland City Hospital is one of the largest hospitals in New Zealand, as well as one of the oldest medical facilities of the country. It is a publicly funded hospital, run by the Auckland District Health Board since 2001. Located in the suburb of Grafton, east of the CBD, it has 3,500 rooms and provides a total of 710 beds.

The emergency department alone sees about 47,000 patients annually (over 55,000 as of 2008), of which 44% are treated as in-patients. Colocated with its emergency department is the children's emergency department, which sees another 30,000 patients annually, making the campus one of the busiest in Australasia.

The hospital is a research and teaching facility as well, providing training for future doctors, nurses, midwives and other health professionals. Rare or complex medical conditions from all over New Zealand may get referred here. The hospital is closely associated with Starship Children's Health, a separate subsidiary facility on the same grounds, located just to the northwest of the City Hospital.

To secure the best quality possible all-around the clock, in 2005 there was commissioned a 3,600 kW (3.6 MW) strong emergency power generation system. This amount for 710 beds is a high one and the hospital can continue all work going on with that much capacity.

Originally, a timber hospital occupied the Auckland City Hospital site from 1846 to 1877, providing four wards of 10 beds each, and having been designed by Frederick Thatcher, the architect of the St Mary's Church in Parnell. The hospital treated both Europeans and Māori, though the diseases were different, with the Pakeha treated mostly for the effects of alcohol abuse, while the Māori came for tuberculosis and rheuma treatment.Thomas Moore Philson was superintendent of the hospital from 1859 to 1883.

In 1877, a new building in an italianate style was constructed for ₤25,000, designed by Philip Herepath, architect to the Provincial Government. Administered by T M Philson, the new hospital became known for taking on many charity cases, but partly in response to this was also continually understaffed and overcrowded. There were also complaints about the limited training of the staff, which only changed with the hiring of a new matron, Miss Crisp, in 1883. Having trained in the new tradition of Florence Nightingale, she is credited with turning the hospital from an 'old men with alcoholism institution' into a real hospital, and with instituting real nurse training.