Southern Cross expanding North Shore’s biggest private hospital: Eight to 15 theatres

Plans for a big expansion of North Harbour Hospital, owned by Southern Cross. The blue building to the left is to be developed. The white building on the right is existing. Image / Southern Cross Health Trust

Listen to this article — Southern Cross expanding North Shore's biggest private hospital: Eight to 15 theatres

New Zealand’s largest private hospital network is expanding the North Shore’s largest private hospital from the current eight operating theatres to 15.

In a big boost for the Shore’s medical demands, Southern Cross Healthcare CEO Chris White announced plans for expanding North Harbour Hospital, but did not put a dollar amount what is planned.

White referred to a significant redevelopment of the Wairau Rd property to expand surgical capacity.

That would ensure that the hospital was fit for purpose to serve a growing population north of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, he said.

“We have offered a range of world-class surgical and specialist services on this site since 1991 and expanding our campus will ensure we are future-fit and continue to support patients living on the North Shore and wider regions for decades to come,” White said.

Southern Cross is still in the planning stages for the project. Resource consent is yet to be sought. But it has a large site, with capacity to add such a large new building.

North Harbour Hospital, owned by Southern Cross, on the North Shore. A big expansion is planned here. Photo / Southern Cross Health Trust

The block is to be built on what is now a relatively flat asphalt carpark to the Wairau Valley side of the existing main building.

Once underway, a development project of this scale and complexity is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete, White said.

The Southern Cross expansion follows another Auckland private hospital giant’s growth.

Allevia Hospitals chief operating officer Aimee Bourke (left) and chief executive Dr Ian England. Photo / Dean Purcell

In May, the Herald reported how New Zealand’s largest private hospital expansion was nearly finished in a $190 million job.

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

Dr Ian England, chief executive of the Allevia Hospitals group, said the new Gilgit Wing by Leighs would vastly increase services at the hospital, established in 1901 by Sisters of 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.

Together, the Southern Cross and Allevia hospital expansions add a further 17 operating theatres to the city.

Southern Cross wholly owns the Wairau Rd hospital on the North Shore, along with nine others across New Zealand.

Those are the Auckland Surgical Centre, Brightside in Epsom, Gillies in Epsom, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Rotorua, Wellington, Christchurch and Invercargill.

At other properties, the trust is in partnership with others.

Partnership hospitals are the North Shore Surgical Centre (Northern Surgical Partnership), Ormiston Surgical & Endoscopy, Grace Hospital (Evolution Southern Cross Partnership), Crest Hospital (Southern Cross Aorangi Hospital Partnership), Manuka Street Hospital Partnership, Southern Cross Central Lakes Hospital (Southern Cross CLT Limited) and Southern Cross Northland Surgical Centre.

The Southern Cross plans for its Wairau Rd property on the North Shore. The planned new building is on the left. The white building is existing. Image / Southern Cross Health Trust

The trust’s latest annual report for the June 30, 2024 year shows it employs 2983 staff, 2035 nurses and other health practitioners and 1203 surgeons and anaesthetists at wholly owned and partnership hospitals and specialist centres.

It made revenue of $614 million (previously $509m) and a net surplus of $12m (previously $10m).

The Herald’s Property Insider reported last month that Southern Cross hospitals has 10 wholly owned hospitals and big reserves: $467m in 2023 and $461m in 2024.

Those are akin to Southern Cross insurance’s reserves: $418.9m in the year to June 30, 2025, helping the giant retain its A+ financial strength rating from Standard and Poor’s (Australia).

But there are more than just 10 hospitals for the trust: there are 26 wholly owned and partnership hospitals and healthcare providers.

The business has not grown its Brightside Hospital in Epsom, where neighbours opposed expansion on a much smaller site than the Shore.

But it does plan building works.

White said last month: “With council consent, we have removed one of three buildings to date and we are actively working towards a resource consent that will see us fulfil the potential of delivering expanded healthcare and surgical services on the Brightside site.”

The Southern Cross hospital’s latest annual report is due out this month.

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