The name will take effect when the service transitions into the new children’s hospital building from late 2021 and was developed in collaboration with tamariki, CCDHB’s Māori Partnership Board, the Wellington Hospitals Foundation, Child Health staff, and Weta Workshop.
“Te Wao Nui reflects the ecosystem of integrated health services designed for the tamariki, rangatahi and whānau of central Aotearoa,” said Hutt Valley and Capital & Coast DHBs Chief Executive Fionnagh Dougan.
“It also underpins the ‘tree of life’ concept, forest murals, and kaitiaki whānau that have been developed for the new hospital’s interior.”
Helping to bring the new hospital name and its interior concepts to life are nine kaitiaki who will be present across the hospital building and are designed to make tamariki and rangatahi feel supported and cared for during their hospital journey.
Each kaitiaki has its own special attributes and values that reflect the values of CCDHB and its child health service in caring for young people.
“This new purpose-built facility will place our child health services – which are currently located in different parts of Wellington Regional Hospital – under one roof for the very first time.
“The new hospital has been designed with tamariki, rangatahi and whānau at the centre. It allows for the provision of high-quality services and brand new equipment, and also ensures clinical collaboration and communication across an important part of New Zealand’s specialist children’s hospital network.
“We look forward to opening Te Wao Nui’s hospital doors early next year and would once again like to acknowledge Mark Dunajtschik’s unprecedented and incredibly generous donation which has allowed this wonderful project to come to fruition.”
Videos about the name, its story, and some of the interior concepts of the new children’s hospital are available online.
Media contact: Chas Te Runa – 027 230 9571
Te Wao Nui Child Health Service Q&A
What will the new child health service and hospital be called?
Te Wao Nui is the name of the new children’s hospital and the integrated Child Health Service it will house. The name will take effect when the integrated service transitions into the hospital building from late 2021.
What does Te Wao Nui mean and how does it reflect the Child Health Service and hospital?
Derived from Te Wao Nui a Tāne, the name translates as ‘The Great Forest’ and reflects the ecosystem of integrated health services designed for tamariki, rangatahi and whānau of Central New Zealand. It recognises the cultural significance and life-giving properties that Māori associate with the forest.
The name also underpins the ‘tree of life’ concept, the forest murals and kaitiaki whānau that have been developed for the new hospital’s interior.
How was the name Te Wao Nui developed?
In June 2019, CCDHB engaged Cato Brand Partners (Cato) to undertake the naming and branding work for the new children’s hospital and Child Health Service.
Over several months, Cato conducted an engagement process with the project’s key stakeholders, including tamariki, to determine what the name needs to accomplish, and how it will work with the existing Wellington Regional Children’s Hospital name and the current ‘Hospi’ brand.
Three key themes emerged from this engagement process. They were:
- The importance of ensuring that the name we selected for our Child Health Service resonated with tamariki.
- The importance of recognising our relationship with tāngata whenua in the naming and branding of the new Child Health Service.
- Supporting the ‘tree of life’, forest and kaitiaki theming work undertaken by Weta Workshop and the architects of the new hospital building.
Based on this feedback, and with the agreement of the CCDHB Board and the Māori Partnership Board, the name Te Wao Nui was chosen for the new regional children’s hospital and Child Health Service.
Helping bring the new hospital name and its interior concepts to life for tamariki, rangatahi and whānau are nine kaitiaki which will be present across the hospital building and are designed to make our tamariki and rangatahi feel supported and cared during their hospital journey. Each have their own special attributes and values that reflect the values of Capital & Coast District Health Board and its Child Health Service in caring for our young people. This kaitiaki whānau was developed in conjunction with tamariki from Newtown School.
What will Te Wao Nui hospital build consist of?
The new hospital will be around 7,200m² and spread over three floors. It will include:
- 151 beds – in bedrooms, consult rooms and clinical rooms
- 50 inpatient hospital beds, as well as social and family/whānau areas
- Outpatient and clinical consultation rooms
- Staff and administration areas.
Where is Te Wao Nui being built?
The hospital is located on the northern end of the Wellington Regional Hospital campus in Newtown. There will be a link bridge connecting the children’s hospital to the existing hospital.
What services will be located in the Te Wao Nui?
The new, purpose-built children’s hospital will house our child health services, which are currently located in different parts of the Wellington Regional Hospital, under one roof for the very first time.
Existing child hospital and outpatient services will all move into the new hospital, allowing for greater clinical collaboration and communication across an important part of New Zealand’s specialist children’s hospital network.
Children requiring emergency care, intensive care, radiology, surgery and other specialist services will continue to receive this care in Wellington Regional Hospital.
What sorts of advantages will the new facility provide?
The new child health services and inpatient facilities will offer a number of benefits, including:
- Improved quality and experience of care for children and family/whānau
- A more child and adolescent friendly environment with ability for a parent/caregiver to stay by every bedside
- A larger, more functional unit for observing and assessing children
- Co-location of child health services in one facility to improve coordination and teamwork
- Increased ensuite bathrooms, and greater numbers of single bedrooms, to better support patient care.
Will Hospi still feature in Te Wao Nui?
Wellington Regional Children’s Hospital’s official charity is Wellington Hospitals Foundation, and its ‘Hospi’ lion branding has become synonymous with the existing children’s hospital. We know that the community and fundraising partners have a strong connection with Hospi and that he is a popular and much-loved presence around the current children’s hospital.
The new kaitiaki whānau will be used throughout the hospital’s wayfinding system and concepts for how they could be used both internally and externally, and by key partners like the Wellington Hospitals Foundation for their sponsorship work, are in development. CCDHB is working closely with the Foundation on a branding transition plan.
How will the benefactor Mark Dunajtschik be recognised in the new hospital building?
The building itself is being named the Mark Dunajtschik and Dorothy Spotswood Building in recognition of Mark and his partner Dorothy’s generous and unprecedented $50 million donation. Both their names will feature prominently inside and outside the new hospital building in honour of their gift to the young people of our region.
Why do we need a new children’s hospital?
The existing Wellington Children’s Hospital building is nearly 30 years old and is no longer fit for purpose. It is cramped, with inadequate clinical areas, no dedicated areas for families, and insufficient isolation facilities.
Because there is not enough room in the existing building, children are often cared for across the Wellington Regional Hospital campus which can be stressful for family/whānau.
Te Wao Nui will bring inpatient services and outpatient clinics under one roof and allow for the integration of services, as well as encouraging clinical collaboration.
How much will it cost?
The cost of the building works, including furniture, equipment and fittings, will be approximately $112 million. Financial contributions to the hospital include:
- Mark Dunajtschik’s $50 million donation
- The Government’s contribution of $45.6 million
- The Wellington Hospital Foundation’s fundraising and community commitment of $10 million
- The CCDHB contribution of approximately $6 million.
When will it be completed and when will services commence operating in the new hospital?
The transition of hospital staff into Te Wao Nui, and the opening of the service to the public, will take place later than we had originally planned. We are working to clarify this process and when the new service will be operational.
Who does CCDHB’s Child Health Service cater for?
CCDHB’s Child Health Service is an important part of New Zealand’s specialist children’s hospital network. They support babies to adolescents (16 years and under) with medical conditions and requiring paediatric surgery.
Specialist paediatric surgery is only performed at five hospitals in the country – one of which is Wellington. We provide paediatric surgical services for children from the Capital and Coast region, as well as children from Hutt Valley, Wairarapa, Manawatu, Whanganui, Hawkes Bay, Nelson and Marlborough.
Around 7,500 children per year are admitted to the hospital wards at Wellington Regional Children’s Hospital. Around 80 percent of the children live in the Capital & Coast DHB area; the other 20 percent are children from the lower North Island and upper South Island.
There are more than 87,000 young patient visits to Wellington Regional Children’s Hospital each year – most of which are outpatient visits.
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