In this article, we want to delve into the topic of Palmerston North Hospital and explore all its dimensions. Palmerston North Hospital has been a topic of constant interest throughout history, with multiple approaches and analyzes from different disciplines. From its origins to the present, Palmerston North Hospital has played a crucial role in people's lives and the development of society. In this article, we aim to examine Palmerston North Hospital from different perspectives, analyzing its impact on culture, politics, science, the arts, and everyday life. We hope this article serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding the importance and relevance of Palmerston North Hospital in the modern world.
Palmerston North Regional Hospital | |
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MidCentral District Health Board | |
Geography | |
Location | Palmerston North, Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand |
Coordinates | 40°20′19″S 175°37′13″E / 40.3387°S 175.6203°E |
Organisation | |
Funding | Public hospital |
Type | General |
Services | |
Emergency department | Yes |
Beds | 354 |
Helipad | ICAO: NZJM |
History | |
Opened | 1893 |
Links | |
Website | Official website |
Lists | Hospitals in New Zealand |
Palmerston North Regional Hospital is the main public hospital in Palmerston North, New Zealand. The hospital is located at the northern end of Ruahine Street, 2 km (1.2 mi) northeast of The Square. It is the main hospital run by the MidCentral District Health Board, which primarily serves Palmerston North and the surrounding Manawatū, Tararua and Horowhenua districts.
The hospital has 354 inpatient beds as of 2020. The hospital is a major trauma centre, one of four in the lower North Island alongside Hawke's Bay Hospital, Whanganui Hospital and Wellington Regional Hospital.
The hospital first opened on 27 November 1893 with 25 inpatient beds across four wards, and was staffed by two doctors and three nurses. Ellen Dougherty was the hospital's first matron; on 10 January 1902, she became the world's first registered nurse after the New Zealand Parliament passed the Nurses Registration Act 1901.
In 1968, a 20-year-old male died during an operation at the hospital in New Zealand's first recorded case of malignant hyperthermia (MH), a genetic disorder which causes a severe reaction in susceptible person when exposed to certain anaesthetic agents. It was subsequently discovered the deceased man was part of a large family based in the Manawatū region that had carried the gene for many generations. As a result, around one in every 200 surgeries at Palmerston North Regional Hospital involves a MH-susceptible patient, compared to between 1:10,000 and 1:250,000 worldwide. New Zealand's first (and only) MH testing centre was set up at Massey University in 1978, and was taken over the hospital's anaesthetic department in 1986.