Phased Nelson Hospital plan brought forward

Thursday, 15 August 2024

An upgrade of Nelson’s ageing hospital could be completed earlier than previously planned, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says.

The Minister announced the updated timeframe while touring Nelson Hospital on Thursday.

The detailed business case was being brought forward from 2025, and should be completed by the end of this year, he said.

It comes as the National-led Government has shelved Labour’s plan to build a large new acute services building with 255 beds.

The new building was planned on the site of the existing carpark, with the $1.1 billion project expected to be completed by 2031.

The previous plan would also have seen the partial demolition of the ageing George Manson building, which in 2020 was rated as the worst clinical facility in the country.

Now, National is planning a series of smaller new buildings to be built in a phased approach.

The two earthquake prone George Manson and Percy Brunette buildings would be kept, as new work had found they could be used for longer with seismic remediation work, he said.

The details would be worked through in the business case, but the bill was likely to remain over $1b.

But, the hope was that a series of smaller builds, as opposed to one large building, could be completed a earlier than the previous plan, Reti said.

“My hope would be that it’s earlier than when it was one building coming up out of the ground. So without giving specific timelines, that’s our ambition.”

Staff he had spoken to were “particularly pleased at the prospect of it being a year earlier than was otherwise expected”.

The benefit of a phased series of builds was the ability for services to “decant” into new buildings as they were being completed, he said.

At this stage, it looked like there could be “two substantive buildings side-by-side”, he said.

Asked what assurances he could give to the community that the project would actually happen, Reti said things could change, but bringing the detailed business case forward was a signal they wanted to move quickly.

“It's our intention to move at pace, as you can see with the enhanced time frame on the detailed business case that we want to move quickly with this.

“So that's the best reassurance I can give you.”

Reti could not say how many beds the new upgrade would have, but did say the modelling would be looking out to 2043, five years further than previous plans.

The phased approach was a mechanism that would be used for hospitals across the country, along with standardisation of things like theatres and patient rooms, he said.

“That creates huge design opportunities, reduces costs and increases the speed with which we can build.”

Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora chief medical officer Te Tauihu Dr Nick Baker said, looking downhill, the new buildings would be adjacent to the existing buildings to the left hand side.

Under the new plan, there would be a new ward block, while theatre, ED and radiology would stay where it was.

The main benefit would be more beds sooner, he said.

“The sooner we can not use George Manson for inpatient care, the better. It's a a dated building.”

The hope was that a simpler build would lessen the likelihood of delays, he said.

But, Nelson’s Labour MP Rachel Boyack labelled the move a downgrade for Nelson.

A large acute services building was chosen by Labour because it offered the best clinical outcomes, and National should see that plan through, she said.

“Anything less than that is a slap in the face for Nelson and is a downgrading … it’s critical that we have a building that’s fit for purpose for Nelson.”

Nelson had a growing and ageing population, and the hospital needed to be able to cope with those increasing medical needs, she said.

“It sounds like they are just doing a refurbishment rather than a full rebuild, which is what we need.”

Labour health infrastructure spokesperson Tracey McLellan said regional and provincial hospitals needed to be future-proofed to meet the needs of the population.

“Cheap and cheerful is not a phrase New Zealanders want to hear when it comes to health infrastructure, but it seems to be National’s approach.”