Planned ASMS senior doctors' strike — Thursday 1 May, 24 hours
Patient safety is our priority. Our hospitals and emergency departments will remain open. Continue to attend all appointments on the day of the strike unless we have contacted you to reschedule.
Surgical services deal with a wide range of conditions, some need surgery, others only counselling or medical treatment.
Call the Surgery services team on 09 486 8900
Surgical services deal with a wide range of conditions within the abdomen, breast, neck, and skin, including trauma. There is no vascular surgery service — patients are sent to the vascular service at Auckland City Hospital.
Many patients are referred to surgeons with conditions that do not need surgical procedures, but counselling or medical treatment instead.
Common conditions and treatments provided include:
If you have an urgent problem requiring immediate surgical assessment you will be referred acutely to Surgery services at North Shore or Waitakere hospitals — depending on where you live and how serious your condition is.
A junior team member will assess your condition and decide if you need to be admitted to hospital. If you are admitted the team will perform further investigations and more senior team members will be involved where necessary.
If your problem is not urgent, your healthcare provider will write a letter to Surgery services detailing your medical history and requesting an appointment in the outpatient clinic.
The letters received by the department are reviewed by a consultant surgeon who determines who needs to be seen first. Urgent cases are normally seen within a couple of weeks, non-urgent cases may have to wait much longer.
When you have your appointment a diagnosis will be made, and in some instances surgery may be required. The steps involved in the surgical process and the likely outcome will be discussed with you at your appointment.
If surgery is advised you will be placed on the elective surgery waiting list. The waiting list is ordered according to the severity and urgency of each condition.
Most surgery is performed at North Shore Hospital, but Waitakere Hospital does perform some minor surgery.
You may be required to attend a pre-admission clinic before your surgery to make sure that you are fit and well enough for surgery.