The Department of Paediatric Surgery is a small but active unit that provides inpatient/outpatient surgical care for the children of Canterbury and the West Coast, as well as providing outreach paediatric surgical services to Invercargill, Dunedin, Timaru, Blenheim and Nelson.
All general paediatric surgery on children up to the age of 15 are admitted under this unit. The unit also provides a surgical neonatal service to the neonatal unit at Womens' Hospital. The unit runs weekly outpatient clinics, elective operating sessions and provides 24 hour emergency cover for paediatric surgery. It works closely with both the departments of Paediatrics and Surgery. Major or complex cases are referred from Greymouth, Dunedin, Invercargill, Timaru, Blenheim and Nelson, and occasionally from the North Island.
The unit provides a comprehensive teaching programme for the 5th year medical students and trainee interns. Also, it has 2 accredited training posts for the Board of Paediatric Surgery's SET training programme for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. All RMOs are involved in audit and teaching and are encouraged to contribute to the unit's clinical research projects. The unit is strongly supportive of its junior staff.
Professor Spencer W Beasley
Clinical Director
Phone: (+64 3) 364 0432
Email: spencer.beasley@cdhb.govt.nz
