Each of the three atolls of Tokelau has one hospital each with some medical and diagnostic equipment available, along with 12 beds. However, the hospitals lack some basic technology, like x-ray machines. The three hospitals can provide some level of care for their patients.
As of 2012, there were only 37 healthcare workers on all three atolls. Each hospital had one medical officer, four to five nurses, four to five nurse aides, and a porter. For specialized and intensive services, patients go offshore to either Samoa or New Zealand for more critical cases.
The healthcare system of Tokelau is funded through a combination of grant money from New Zealand, local revenue, and international organizations.
Healthcare in Tokelau also lacks an inter-atoll transportation system which ends up creating a decentralized hospital system with three separate hospitals.
Despite its major challenges, Tokelau has worked to improve its healthcare system and in August 2016, Tokelau created a new initiative named called the Tokelau Health Strategic Plan to better its healthcare infrastructure.
This was divided into four key ideas to help guide the country’s healthcare initiatives, namely developing healthcare infrastructure, improving general public health, improving governance of healthcare services, and creating better clinical services for the island's population.
The most important aspect of the plan is the construction of a National Referral Hospital in the largest of the three atolls, Nukunonu. With the creation of the new National Referral Hospital Tokelau will be able to alleviate the issues caused by its decentralized healthcare system.
