Children’s Emergency Department
The Children’s Emergency Department is a dedicated space for children in the Palmerston North Hospital’s Emergency Department. It provides a whānau focused, child friendly area, separate from the general Emergency Department.
Emergency department attendees are often those who have been involved in trauma or are experiencing a medical emergency, alongside those who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This can be a noisy, busy and sometimes frightening experience for children.
Following examples of dedicated spaces for children in Emergency Departments in Waikato, Christchurch and Wellington; Palmerston North Hospital’s Children’s ED is a valuable and important resource for both whānau and hospital staff.
It’s important to note that children requiring urgent, life-saving treatment, such as those triaged as Category One or Two, will always be treated in the main ED, close to resuscitation and critical care areas. This ensures our most unwell tamariki receive the highest level of care, as quickly as possible.
Children’s Emergency Department Nurses Station.
The Children’s Emergency Department features:
a separate waiting area for tamariki and their whānau, with toys, books, a TV and a kitchenette for parents and whānau to use
four additional cubicles for patients
a dedicated procedure room
equipment, furniture, and distraction tools to cater for a range of developmental stages, disabilities, illnesses and injuries
child-friendly décor and a themed environment that is both peaceful and interesting for tamariki
baby-changing facilities
Children’s Emergency Department Waiting Room.
This space was created within the existing Emergency Department footprint, in the space left vacant by the new ED Observation Area, making it a project that instantly made a difference for our community without the significant costs and time associated with building a new facility.
Children’s Emergency Department Assessment Area.
Children’s Emergency Department Floor Plan.
The journey
The Palmerston North Hospital Foundation successfully raised $700,000 for the construction of the Children’s Emergency Department at Palmerston North Hospital in May 2024.
The cost of the build was completely covered by the generosity of our donors and the wider community.
It takes a community to make a difference.
Over 180 generous individuals, businesses, clubs and charitable trusts supported the project. You can view the full list of our generous donors here.
This included grassroots support from the community, with everything from mufti days to selling sunflowers.
The Palmerston North Hospital Foundation would also like to acknowledge the amazing support from Sir Patrick Higgins and his family, who have been significant benefactors to this special project from the very beginning.
Community Groups including the Awapuni Rotary Club, the Middle Districts Lions Club, the Aaron Cruden Trust, the Olive Tree Charitable Trust, the Manawatu Kilwinning Charitable Trust and the Horowhenua New Zealand Trust all came out in force.
Alongside local businesses Fitzherbert Rowe, Max Tarr Group and Crash Services Palmerston North who generously donated to the project. While painting company Team dh provided the painting and decorating services for the space, with Resene Palmerston North donating the paint. Manawatu legends Stewarts Mitre 10 Mega Palmerston North and Alexander Construction kindly donated building materials and labour to the project.
Award-winning public relations agency Little & Loud led the communications and fundraising for this project, and Mediaworks Manawatū helped raise awareness and $12,000 from local businesses through their on-air More FM Hundy Club in December 2023.
A whopping $130,000 was raised in one night in November 2023 at a charity auction and movie premier.
This is just the beginning for the Foundation.
If you were hoping to donate to the Children’s ED project, but missed out, that’s okay. We have many other projects in the pipeline. If you’d be interested in supporting a specific area or project, please let us know.
Get in touch today at info@pnhospitalfoundation.co.nz
