Starship Children's Health

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Southern entrance of the hospital.

Starship Children's Health was the first children's hospital in New Zealand^[1] when it opened in 1991, and still remains the largest such facility in the country;^[2]^[3] treating over 86,000 patients a year, around a quarter of them inpatients.^[2]While a separate facility, it is located on the same Grafton-area grounds of Auckland City Hospital in Auckland City and adjacent to the Auckland Medical School.

Starship is also a major medical teaching centre, leading New Zealand in paediatric training and research. The hospital received the 2005 New Zealand Health Innovations Awards for its medication safety programs.^[2]

[edit] Facilities

Main Starship building atrium looking up from the inner courtyard.

Main Starship building atrium from the top.

Character

The main Starship building opened on 18 November 1991 on the grounds of Auckland City Hospital. Its name was chosen to appeal to children and young people and to reflected the building's design. The building has a central atrium lit by natural light and designed to a rainforest theme with a playground. Each of its five levels is painted a different colour, with a symbolic meaning: Aqua for the Pacific Ocean; Orange for land; Blue for sky; Yellow for sunshine; and Pink for health.^[2]

Medical

Facilities include inpatient and outpatient services as well as community based services such as Community Child Health and Disability Service, Safekids and Paediatric Home Care. The building has nine wards and a capacity of 219 beds. Besides the main building, Starship has outpatient clinics for the Auckland region in Tamaki, West Auckland and North Shore City, as well as being associated with approximately 45 Outreach Clinics throughout the country.^[2]

Other

The hospital includes a number of food outlets and a convenience store. Previously, it also had a McDonald's franchise, but this was closed in 2005 after 8 years of operation, with the company citing a very marginal operation as the main reason. Some anti-obesity campaigners had also considered the fast-food restaurant as providing a wrong message, though the franchise noted that it had extended its menu beyond its normal selection to include such choices as cereal.^[4]