What our readers say about Starship renaming

Herald readers strongly oppose renaming the Starship.

Wayne Brown, chairman of the Auckland District Health Board, which owns the Starship, has suggested calling it Auckland Sick Children's Hospital.

He notes that Toronto has a Sick Children's Hospital.

The Herald asked readers what they thought. Of 119 e-mails and letters received yesterday, 108 opposed changing the name, seven supported the idea and four were undecided.

Most of those opposing a change said the money would be better spent on healthcare.

Here is an edited selection of readers' views:


When you have a child in hospital, for whatever reason, the biggest thing the child wants is to go home. The name of a hospital does not make them want to stay. A nice name does not make the operating theatre a fun place or a hospital bed any more comfortable, but it is one of the things that make a child's hospital visit a little easier to deal with ... Our hospitals for adults are not called "Auckland Sick Adults Hospital", so why should a children's hospital be given such a dull, unsympathetic name ... The expenditure of rebranding is damn crazy when all our hospitals struggle financially. The money is much better spent looking after our kids, wonderful doctors and absolutely fantastic nurses.

Deryn Nield.

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Why not have the best of both worlds: "Starship Sick Children's Hospital".

Michelle Potter.

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I have never been able to bring myself to call the Auckland children's hospital "Starship" and I'm glad someone has had the courage to question a name which was an irrelevant branding exercise from the outset. If sanity were to prevail, it would be consigned to the same bin that holds "Auckland, Eh?" and other equally silly brand names.

Jim Hodge. Parnell.

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I worked at the world-renowned hospital St Marks in London. This hospital had its name emblazoned in concrete letters right across the front of the building: ST MARK'S HOSPITAL FOR DISEASES OF THE BOWEL AND RECTUM.

I felt embarrassed and ashamed for the patients who were admitted and even more so for their friends and relations who were obliged to come and go through the doors beneath this terrible "announcement". An extreme example, I agree, but for a terrified child facing the trauma of being taken out of the security of its family, where better than a space-ship? Where is the magic in Auckland Sick Children's Hospital?

Barbara Wilson. Devonport.

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To me, the name Starship evokes a positive environment and outcome. If children feel it is a "cool" name, then it is to be applauded. Auckland Sick Children's Hospital evokes a negative connotation. Let the local kids have their say!

Christine MacKenzie.

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Absolutely ridiculous to change the name. Hospital is a terrifying experience for anyone, especially children. At least Starship creates a stirring in the imagination.

Margaret Holmes.

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Yesterday, I took the opportunity of e-mailing the Herald's name-change story to a colleague who is professor of nursing at the University of Toronto. Her response was: "The name Hospital for Sick Children is criticised because it is too sickness oriented and the adjective 'sick' is redundant (next to hospital)." In contrast, the Starship is a child-friendly name. Within a decade, it has become a metaphor for children's healthcare in Auckland and an iconic element in Auckland's landscape.

Dr Robin Kearns, Associate Professor, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Auckland.

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The proposed name is as hideous as it is unimaginative. Going to hospital is bad enough, and to have it labelled with such a negative name is unacceptable - it is like saying welcome to the "death house". You can't be serious, Wayne Brown.

T.F. Jones.

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In this era of tight healthcare budgets, district health boards do not need to spend money on unnecessary rebranding.

It is interesting to see Mr Brown's suggestion for a "Sick Children's Hospital" when healthcare institutions in other developed countries are trying to reposition themselves as facilitators of health and wellness.

The message I get from his suggestion is that children who enter the hospital never get well.

What a horrible thought for the 21st century.

Dr Andrew Hvizdos. Milford.

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At the time Starship was named, I thought it was a bit silly, but conceded that to a child feeling less than enthusiastic about hospital it added an element of play and fantasy. In my opinion, the new name proposed is blunt, repulsive and unimaginative.

Alan Miles. Wellington.

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