A Review of Neonatal Intensive Care Provision in New Zealand

Date of publication: February 2004

New Zealand currently has six regional Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Units, and three Level 2+ units.

A Level 3 unit provides neonatal intensive care and high dependency care. This means that they have the facilities to care for extremely premature infants (from 24 weeks gestation) and sick babies requiring ventilation, intravenous feeding and other types of intensive care monitoring and treatment.

Level 2 units within New Zealand generally care for babies 32/40 weeks and above and babies who have been transferred from Level 3 units after being clinically stabilised. They do not ventilate babies (except in emergencies) and generally use a less invasive form of ventilation – continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) for babies that are clinically stable. Some Level 2 units provide intermediate (Level 2+) care for babies over 28 weeks. All Level 2 units are involved at times in stabilising infants who are born or become sick before they can reach a Level 3 unit.

There are insufficient Level 3 neonatal unit cots within New Zealand to provide an adequate regional NICU service for mothers and premature babies. Current numbers of Level 3 cots in the six tertiary centres are 66, with an planned increase to 86 over the next five years. Cot-modelling using internationally accepted ratios suggests there is a requirement for between 84 and 109 Level 3 NICU cots nationally.

This report examines the background behind the increasing need for neonatal cots in New Zealand, makes predictions about the number of cots required, and makes recommendations about other factors which need to be addressed.

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A Review of Neonatal Intensive Care Provision in New Zealand (Word, 1022kB) Warning - large file size

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Related information

Child Health in New Zealand

Report of inquiry into treatment of neonates at National Women's Hospital made public (media release: July 1999)

Intensive Care publications

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Page last updated 11 July 2005