Auckland City Hospital

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.ImportanceThe emergency department alone sees about 47,000 patients annually, 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 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.HistorySmaller beginningsOriginally, 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.