A hospital is always on, especially its Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Starship Hospital is no exception. To achieve an expansion of the Paediatric ICU at Starship, empathy for people was the top priority across all decision-making.

When Te Toka Tumai Auckland engaged RDT Pacific to manage the overall expansion and upgrade project at Starship Hospital, the biggest challenge was not the project itself but the uninterrupted care for the patients within.

This project has two stages:

• Expansion of the Paediatric ICU to increase patient capacity and enhance the level of care for children needing urgent medical treatment.
• The redevelopment of the Starship central atrium space to accommodate more staff, improve support areas, enhance the Medical Day Stay department and improve patient and whānau experience.

As Project Manager for this development, the RDT team managed the overall project, prioritising the continuation of hospital operations while coordinating the architect, structural engineers, main contractor and the building service and acoustics consultants.

The RDT team worked closely with the client and main contractor to manage the complexities of working in an active hospital environment. Noise management to avoid disruption in clinical spaces kept the project team on their toes. The reward is helping bring to life this significant project for Starship Hospital, Te Toka Tumai Auckland and the Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland hapori whānui.

RDT Pacific was chosen for this project because of our proven extensive experience in the health sector in New Zealand, and our ability to engage with a client and project team to achieve a common goal.