The base regional hospital in Palmerston North has a dedicated Intensive Care Unit, Coronary Care Unit and Neonatal Unit, amongst other services, and provides one of the largest trauma centres in New Zealand.
 
The hospital provides services to a geographic area of around 880,000 hectares (ha) and spans the North Island of New Zealand, from the western coast of the Manawatu, Horowhenua and Otaki districts, to the Tararua district on the eastern coast.

Palmerston North Hospital is a 350 bed secondary care hospital, which services an urban population of 75,000 and a total population catchment of 160,000, increasing to 500,000 for the delivery of some tertiary services. In addition, the hospital is a teaching hospital, and is associated with both Auckland and Otago medical schools.

In 2001, Palmerston North Hospital completed a major site redevelopment project. The $56 million investment followed six years hard work and planning and resulted in upgraded buildings providing an attractive and functional environment for patients, visitors and staff.
 
Building on from this work, MidCentral Health has developed a Clinical Services Plan which models future demand for secondary care (hospital) services and identifies the capacity resources and models of care required to meet this demand. This is leading to a review of buildings and will provide a long term blue print for hospital service development.