Palmerston North Hospital is the main public hospital in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The hospital is located at the northern end of Ruahine Street, northeast of The Square. It is the main hospital run by the

MidCentral District Health Board MidCentral District Health Board (MidCentral DHB or MCDHB) was a district health board that provided healthcare in the Manawatū region of New Zealand. The DHB covers the Manawatu District, Palmerston North City, Tararua District, Horowhenua ...

, which primarily serves Palmerston North and the surrounding Manawatu, Tararua and

Horowhenua Horowhenua District is a territorial authority district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, administered by Horowhenua District Council. Located north of Wellington and Kapiti, it stretches from slightly north of the town of ...

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.

History

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 Ellen Dougherty (20 September 1844 – 3 November 1919), a New Zealand nurse, was the first Registered Nurse in the world. Biography Ellen Dougherty was born at Cutters Bay, Port Underwood, New Zealand. Ellen was inspired to be a nurse afte ...

was the hospital's first matron; on 10 January 1902, she became the world's first

registered nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...

after the New Zealand Parliament passed the

Nurses Registration Act 1901 The Nurses Registration Act was passed on 12 September 1901 in New Zealand, providing for the registration of trained nurses. The legislation came into effect on 1 January 1902, leading New Zealand to become the first country in the world to re ...

. In 1968, a 20-year-old male died during an operation at the hospital in New Zealand's first recorded case of

malignant hyperthermia Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a type of severe reaction that occurs in response to particular medications used during General anaesthesia, general anesthesia, among those who are susceptible. Symptoms include tetany, muscle rigidity, 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 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 Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

in 1978, and was taken over the hospital's anaesthetic department in 1986.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Palmerston North Hospitals established in 1893 Hospitals in New Zealand 1893 establishments in New Zealand