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Critical Care

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Critical Care including Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU)

Critical Care is an area where specialist care is given to patients when rapid, potentially reversible, life-threatening diseases or injury occur, such as a major accident, a severe infection, coma or following a major operation.
Critical Care is divided into two areas:

  • Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where critically ill patients are cared for
  • High Dependency Unit (HDU) where patients require extra monitoring above what can be safely provided in the wards are cared for.

Critical Care is located in a state-of-the-art facility in the Waikato Hospital’s Meade Clinical Centre. The new area is near the Emergency Department, operating theatres and main hospital circulation routes.
It provides a healing and a supportive environment for patients and families, as well as ideal conditions for staff attending to patients.

The Critical Care team comprises intensivists (physicians specialising in intensive care), registrars, nurse managers and registered nurses, nurse educators, allied health team, health care assistants, technicians, research team, and clerical support.

The service is supported by clinical resource nurses who form a Patient At Risk service which provides a critical care outreach service for patients transferred from critical care to the general hospital wards. They cover after hours and weekends, and work closely with after-hours medical teams. They respond to all clinical emergencies and are available for ward staff requiring clinical support and guidance in managing a complex or deteriorating patients. 

There is also a dedicated Critical Care / ICU Research Unit.

 

Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a 16-bed facility that provides sophisticated care and life support to critically unwell or injured patient. It caters for patients undergoing cardiac surgery, paediatric (child) and general adult intensive care.
It is the tertiary Intensive Care Unit in the Midland health region. The department runs an inter-hospital critical care retrieval service that transports patients back to Waikato Hospital from other hospitals in the Midland health region.
The ICU team is an important part of the cardiac arrest and trauma teams at Waikato Hospital.

High Dependency Unit (HDU)

The High Dependency Unit (HDU) is a 12-bed unit that provides special expertise for adult patients requiring intensive monitoring and treatment following surgery, trauma and medical or surgical conditions. It works closely with Intensive Care Unit.

Key personnel

Chris Holdaway
Medical Director Surgery and Critical Care

Niki Houghton
Clinical Nurse Director, Cardiovascular Services

Deborah Trail
Interim Charge Nurse Manager, Critical Care

Location

Waikato Hospital, Hamilton.

  • High Dependency Unit, Level 4, Meade Clinical Centre 
  • Intensive Care Unit, Level 4, Meade Clinical Centre 

Contact information

  • For all hospital departments and services (07) 839 8899
  • For Critical Care department secretary (07) 839 8899 x 98164