New children's hospital Te Wao Nui has officially opened in Wellington this morning.
The hospital has 50 inpatient beds and a further 101 outpatient beds, and will offer all of the region's child health care under one roof, Health Minister Andrew Little said.
The facility will care for babies and children 16 years and younger from the wider Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough, Whanganui, Hawke's Bay and Manawatu areas.
The facility will care for babies and children 16 years and younger. (Source: 1News)
Te Wao Nui is also set to be one of five hospitals in Aotearoa that is able to provide specialist paediatric surgery, Little said.
Benefactors Mark Dunajtschik and Dorothy Spotswood contributed $53 million to the new facility. The Government contributed another $53 million and a further $10 million was raised by the Wellington Hospitals Foundation.
Te Wao Nui was blessed earlier in the morning. Its name is derived from Te Wao Nui a Tāne - "The Great Forest of Tāne" to reflect the life-giving properties of nature and this facility too.
The new hospital is part of the $7 billion in health infrastructure spending pledged by the Government.
Te Wao Nui will open to its first patients on October 17.
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