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Exclusive: Inside Starship's paediatric intensive care unit

May 2, 2021

Every day, specialist staff at Starship Hospital’s paediatric intensive care unit treat, nurse, and hold the hands of our critically-ill tamariki.

Sunday’s Miriama Kamo was given a rare and exclusive look inside PICU at Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland.

That’s the paediatric intensive care unit where some of the sickest children in New Zealand are treated but which is critically short of beds.

The Sunday team met Rehua, Harry, Toutai and their families, and they met those working on the wards.

They speak to one parent who has carried his child to the operating theatre every time they undergo surgery.

Staff there work with life and death, with children and their whānau, and through 24/7 shifts everyday.

But resources are stretched – for the past 12 years there have been 22 beds in the unit, with no increases in that time. It is now trying to raise millions for an extra 10 beds by next winter.

The Government’s committed to 60 per cent of the funding, while the Starship Foundation is raising the rest.

Watch the full story in the video above, and you can donate to the Starship fundraising campaign here.

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