Women's unit opens at Palmerston North Hospital

Palmerston North Hospital Women's Assessment and Surgical Unit Charge Nurse Michelle Quinn, and MidCentral DHB Healthy Women Children and Youth Clinical Programmes Lead Robyn Williamson.

Tararua women requiring surgery at Palmerston North Hospital will now have their own dedicated space for recovery and assessments with the opening of the new Women's Assessment and Surgical Unit (WASU).

Opened with a blessing earlier this month, the WASU is an eight-bed short-stay surgical unit for women, based adjacent to the maternity ward on Level 2.

The unit will have a specialist focus on gynaecology, however, women recovering from other surgeries will also be able to be utilise the facility.

MidCentral District Health Board Healthy Women Children and Youth Operations executive Sarah Fenwick said the unit would provide a safe space for women to recover.

"We are excited to have the opportunity to open this unit to assist the women of our district in having a dedicated space of their own within the hospital," she said.

"The unit is going to be especially helpful for women dealing with pregnancy loss. We hope this unit will provide them with a space where they can recover with privacy and dignity."

The unit would also help to improve patient flow through the hospital by providing extra capacity for surgical beds across the facility, Fenwick said.