Wakari Hospital is a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

located in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand. It is situated in the suburb of

Wakari Wakari ( ) is a residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, immediately to the west of the ridge which runs to the west of the city's centre. Wakari lies to the north of the upper re ...

, about three kilometres north-west of the city centre. The hospital is operated by the

Southern District Health Board The Southern District Health Board (Southern DHB) was a district health board which provided healthcare to an area covering the southern half of the South Island of New Zealand. In July 2022, the Southern DHB was dissolved as part of a nationwid ...

(formerly

Otago District Health Board The Otago District Health Board (Otago DHB) was a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to an area covering most of Otago and Waitaki District in New Zealand. History The Otago District Health Board, like most other distr ...

) and is closely associated with

Dunedin Public Hospital Dunedin Hospital is the main public hospital in Dunedin, New Zealand. It serves as the major base hospital for the Otago and Southland, New Zealand, Southland regions with a potential Catchment area, catchment radius of roughly 300 kilometres, and ...

. It contains specialised psychiatric services but also cares for people with intellectual disability and people undergoing physical rehabilitation. It has units for

forensic psychiatry Forensic psychiatry is a subspeciality of psychiatry and is related to criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry. According to the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, it is defined as "a subspecialty of psychiat ...

, psychiatric emergency services, long- and short-term secure psychiatric units,

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

mental health, physical

rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

and increasingly community out-reach services such as public health and district nursing.

History

From 1915 the site was initially an infectious diseases centre, and later a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

. In 1957 it was redeveloped as a general hospital, serving as the main Otago hospital while the

Dunedin Hospital Dunedin Hospital is the main public hospital in Dunedin, New Zealand. It serves as the major base hospital for the Otago and Southland regions with a potential catchment radius of roughly 300 kilometres, and a population of around 300,000. Operat ...

was being redeveloped in the 1970s. In the early 1980s, the Nurses' home was leased to the University for use as a student hostel, this being taken back with the closure of the Cherry Farm Hospital in 1992.

Changing uses

Wakari continued as a geriatric and psychiatric care facility, the geriatric wards gradually being wound down through the nineties with government reforms to privatise long-term care. The care of the elderly assessment and rehabilitation wards were transferred back to

. Attempts were made to sell the main block of the hospital, which found occasional use as a facility for live-in drug trials and even a temporary accommodation during important rugby tests.

Current directions

Currently the main block is being redeveloped to house a variety of out-reach services such as

Public Health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

and

District Nursing District Nurses work manage care within the community and lead teams of community nurses and support workers. The role requires registered nurses to take a NMC approved specialist practitioner course. Duties generally include visiting house-bound ...

, moving out of expensive leased premises and centralising in properties the

already owns. Continuing consideration is being given to whether all the site needs to be retained and it has been proposed that some more land be sold to

Leslie Groves Hospital Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

References

External links

Southern District Health Board
{{Authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1915 Psychiatric hospitals in New Zealand Buildings and structures in Dunedin Hospitals established in 1915 Tuberculosis sanatoria