Whangārei Hospital Opens $35M Child Health Centre and New Car Park Extension

Whangārei Hospital's new Child Health Centre was officially opened today, giving children, young people, and their families across Northland a purpose-built home for outpatient and community child health services, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

Children and young people in Northland deserve to receive care in facilities that are built for them, Mr Brown says.

This $35 million centre replaces an ageing children's clinic with a modern, welcoming space designed around the needs of children and their families.

The centre provides medical and non-medical outpatient and community services for children aged 0 to 16, and up to 21 in some cases. Services include paediatric medical services, paediatric community nursing, healthy lifestyle programmes, eczema and allergy clinics, visiting specialist clinics, and electroencephalogram (EEG) clinics.

It sits alongside the hospital, connected by a link bridge, placing child health services close to the Special Care Baby Unit, paediatrics, and maternity services.

That proximity matters for families moving between services, and so does the design of the building itself.

A hospital visit can be daunting for a young child, so this centre has been designed around them, with comfortable waiting areas for families, therapy and play spaces inside, and a playground and landscaped areas outside.

The completion of a second project was also marked today, with the opening of the Car Park 14 extension.

Car parks are a vital part of hospital infrastructure and are essential for patients, staff, and visitors as we continue the transformation of Whangārei Hospital.

This $18.5 million project delivers 573 car parks and will help meet growing demand across the campus as the hospital continues to grow.

Completing both projects is a critical step towards the wider Whangārei Hospital redevelopment. Relocating child health services has released the former Child Health site, which is required for the new acute services building and ward tower, while the carpark extension maintains, and ultimately increases, the number of car parks available on site during construction.

Together, they clear the way for construction of the new acute services building to begin. They also mean the hospital can keep operating effectively through that work, with more parking available than there was before. That is how you deliver a redevelopment of this scale without disrupting the care people need today.

Seeing both projects completed is a significant milestone for Northland, and I want to acknowledge Dr Shane Reti, who turned the sod for the Child Health Centre in December 2024 and for the carpark extension late last year.

We are fixing the basics and building the future of our healthcare system by investing in the infrastructure New Zealanders need, and Northland is a big part of that. There is more to come as the redevelopment of this hospital continues, Mr Brown says.