Katherine District Hospital is a district public

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

servicing the

Katherine Region The Katherine Region, known as "Big River Country", is one of five major regions in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is situated just below the tropical Top End. The Katherine region covers an area of , and has a population of 18,646, mak ...

in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is located from the centre of town on the banks of the Katherine River, overlooking Knott's Crossing. It services an area of . Around 85% percent of its patients are

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

people, many from some of the most remote communities in Australia. It is operated by the Northern Territory Government Department of Health. The hospital has twice been evacuated due to water inundation during the floods in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

and 2006, leading to pressure from the

Katherine Town Council The Katherine Town Council is a local government area in the Northern Territory, established on 3 March 1978. It is situated south of Darwin, and covers an area of . The Town of Katherine is an established residential township with a commerc ...

on the Territory Government to relocate the hospital to higher ground, at an estimated cost of $50 million.

Services

The hospital provides a 24-hour

emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...

as well as general medical and surgical wards, an operating theatre, a maternity ward, 18 bed children's ward,

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

laboratory, a

radiography Radiography is an imaging technique using X-rays, gamma rays, or similar ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation to view the internal form of an object. Applications of radiography include medical radiography ("diagnostic" and "therapeut ...

department equipped to perform basic x-ray, ultrasound, CT scans and a renal unit. Pharmacy and specialized outpatient services are also accessible. The renal dialysis unit open in May 2000, providing an option for ongoing treatment for kidney disease. The facility accommodates the local Jawoyn people by providing local care which was previously only available in Darwin, forcing patients to relocate. The hospital employs Aboriginal liaison and support officers and is regularly visit by specialists from Darwin. The Northern Territory Aeromedical Service offers patient retrieval and transfer to Royal Darwin Hospital, the region's

tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

referral hospital from a base in Katherine. The hospital maintains a small academic library.

Statistics

In the 2011-2012 financial year, Katherine District Hospital conducted 440 elective surgeries and handled 14,311 Emergency Department presentations. Waiting times in the emergency department were varied from the national average, with shorter waits for urgent treatments according to the Australian Government's My Hospital website with 69% of patients treated with 30 minutes. Elective surgeries were not compared, but the median waiting time for urgent cases was 15 days.

References

{{Authority control Hospitals in the Northern Territory Katherine, Northern Territory