Allevia Hospital Epsom project is NZ’s biggest private hospital expansion

New Zealand’s largest private hospital expansion under way is nearly finished in a $150 million job.

Christchurch-headquartered Leighs Construction won the contract on the Auckland hospital, once known as Mercy Hospital, 98 Mountain Rd. It is now called Allevia Hospital Epsom.

Dr Ian England, chief executive of the group – which was recently rebranded Allevia Hospitals – said the new Gilgit Wing by Leighs would vastly increase services at the hospital, established in 1901 by Mercy nuns.

“We will be Auckland’s only private hospital provider with both an intensive care unit and a high-dependency unit to support complex and high-acuity cases,” England said.

Allevia Hospital Epsom opens its new four-level wing on Friday with:

The 10 new theatres replace seven existing smaller ones in the red brick Prendergast building.

England said old theatres were often only 30sq m, whereas the new ones are double that size to accommodate more sophisticated equipment.

“The expansion is designed to meet the increasing need for advanced surgical procedures,” England said today.

Cardiothoracic, orthopaedic, neurosurgery, gynaecology, urology, otolaryngology, cardiac and general elective surgery will be carried out in the new theatres.

The new grey four-level Gilgit Wing beside the older existing red-brick, seven-level block has been named after Gilgit Rd, which runs off Mountain Rd.

England said the new building was a significant addition to the specialities already offered at the hospital.

The first operations will be on June 3.

England said $150m was spent on four sites:

In 2022, the private hospital business said it expected to open the new facilities by September 2024, although dates would depend on progress.

In February 2022, the Herald reported on the expansion, which England said was a three-year programme to take floor areas from 17,000sq m to 23,000sq m.

The old Stella Maris building on the northern side of the hospital was demolished to make way for the new wing.

Work had to attempt to minimise noise and vibration which affected the main hospital operations, England said.

The main vehicle entrance off Mountain Rd to the front of the hospital no longer exists because the new wing was built there.

People now drive into the 250-space car parking building off Mountain Rd, and even pedestrians are directed to enter via the carpark. England said surveys showed 80% of patients and visitors were driving, hence the carpark emphasis.

He acknowledged problems: “The pedestrian experience is not the best at the moment because there has been so much change on the site.” There were plans to enhance that “and make it more impressive, more welcoming”.

The business began planning changes six years ago. John Fillmore Contracting excavated “a massive hole” three levels deep: “The excavations were incredible – 20 trucks a day for nearly a year.”

Robots will be used in the new theatres to guide surgeons doing hip and knee replacements, he said.

The new wing is grey because it was built beneath a volcanic view shaft and Allevia wanted to respect Maungawhau’s mana, England said.

Allevia Hospitals, previously MercyAscot Hospitals, says it is one of New Zealand’s largest private surgical hospital groups with three Auckland sites:

The business has more than 19,500 patients a year, England said.

About 360 specialists work within Allevia, which has 22 privately-owned operating theatres and an endoscopy day-stay service.

Wellington’s Wakefield Hospital this year opened a $185m expansion.

Because the Epsom job is yet to finish, that makes it the largest current private hospital expansion.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald‘s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.