Source: New Zealand Government
Patients needing urgent stroke treatment and other lifesaving procedures will benefit from faster, more reliable care, with a $38.2 million investment to complete the upgrade of interventional radiology services at Auckland City Hospital, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
“When someone suffers a stroke, fast access to treatment can be the difference between a full recovery and lifelong disability. This investment will ensure Auckland City Hospital has the modern equipment and capacity to deliver that care,” Mr Brown says.
Interventional radiology uses live imaging, such as X-ray, CT, and ultrasound, to guide minimally invasive procedures through a pinhole access in the skin. These include removing blood clots from the brain during a stroke, and from the lung following pulmonary embolism, repairing ruptured blood vessels, stopping internal bleeding, and clearing blocked arteries, all without the need for open surgery. For patients, this can mean less pain, lower risk, and a faster recovery.
“Auckland City Hospital has one of the largest and busiest interventional radiology services in Australasia. It is the only hospital in Auckland and Northland providing interventional neuroradiology, which treats conditions of the brain and spine such as acute stroke and ruptured brain aneurysms, and the only hospital in New Zealand performing these procedures on children.
“The hospital’s stroke clot-retrieval service covers 2.8 million people across the upper North Island and treats around 400 patients a year. Around 80 per cent of the service’s work is acute or emergency care, so patients and their families need to be able to rely on it.
“Demand is also growing, with the service performing more than 4,100 procedures last year, up 14 per cent since 2021.
“This investment will help reduce disruption, shorten wait times, and ensure more patients receive timely treatment.”
Stage 1, a $41.2 million investment announced last year, is delivering a new interventional neuroradiology operating room, a replacement fluoroscopy room, an interventional ultrasound room, and additional short-stay recovery beds.
Stage 2 completes this work and will deliver:
- Replacement of three ageing imaging systems with state-of-the-art technology
- Refurbishment of three existing operating rooms
- A new interventional CT operating room, to meet growing demand for CT-guided procedures
- Additional staffing to bring the operating room delivered through Stage 1 into service
The entire project is expected to be completed over the next three years, with operating rooms coming online in phases so patients can continue to receive care throughout construction.
“We are investing in modern health infrastructure and reliable equipment because it is essential to delivering the care patients need. Once complete, this upgrade will mean faster diagnoses, less invasive treatment, and a better chance of recovery for patients across New Zealand,” Mr Brown says.
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/09/18/interventional-radiology-upgrade-to-speed-up-stroke-care-in-auckland/