Nelson Hospital business case with minister
A business case for the long-awaited redevelopment of Nelson Hospital has been given to the Minister of Health.
But, while there is a business case and a “proposed master plan” there is still no time frame of when these will be released to the public.
It’s a delay that the Nelson MP, Labour’s Rachel Boyack, has labelled deeply concerning.
“The public deserve answers, and I’m deeply concerned that they’re going to significantly scale back what was planned,” she said on Friday.
The previous Labour Government had a $1.1 billion plan to redevelop Nelson Hospital by building a large new acute services building with 255 beds, including a new ED.
But, the National-led Government shelved that plan in favour of planning a series of smaller new buildings to be built in a phased approach.
In August last year, then health minister Shane Reti announced the new master plan would go before Cabinet by the end of 2024.
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, but the total redevelopment bill was likely to remain over $1b, Reti said at the time.
Meanwhile, work on a a $10.6 million expansion of the hospital’s emergency department is currently underway.
Reti was replaced as health minister by Simeon Brown in January, and Brown visited Nelson Hospital last month.
When asked for an update on the hospital redevelopment this month, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora head of infrastructure delivery Blake Lepper said the business case had been provided to the minister.
“Our project team were delighted to host him in Nelson to see the current hospital and walk him through the proposed master plan for the project.
“This is a major project for Health New Zealand and we are committed to delivering a modern, fit-for-purpose hospital which will benefit people across Te Tau Ihu for years to come.”
Asked when the documents would be made public, Lepper replied: “This matter is under active consideration and further updates will be provided in due course.”
The update comes as a recently released Government document, titled Major Health Infrastructure Projects Underway, which was prepared for the Government’s Infrastructure Summit in March, did not list Nelson Hospital as a key project.
Similarly, a briefing for the incoming minister made no mention of Nelson Hospital.\
Lepper said the infrastructure report was an “initial report”.
“We selected some examples of projects that were further along in the process construction-wise for the Te Waipounamu key projects page … The redevelopment project is not mentioned in the [minister’s briefing] as there were no planned decision points for the minister in the first month of him assuming his portfolio.”
Brown said his recent visit was a “great opportunity to be briefed on the work under way on the business case for the proposed redevelopment of the site”.
“The Nelson Hospital redevelopment is a significant project for Health New Zealand. The upgraded facilities will ensure the community can access contemporary care, and will take into account the changing population of the region.
“The first stages of this project are the design and enabling works phases, and I am pleased that these are well under way.”
He had seen “first-hand” work being done to earthquake strengthen the George Mason building and the ED expansion.
“This is important work to ensure not only the safety of existing facilities, but to expand capacity at the hospital,” he said.
“While in Nelson I also met with mayor Nick Smith to discuss healthcare, and particularly the Nelson Hospital redevelopment, to ensure I understood community perspectives on healthcare in the region.”
Boyack said the master plan and business case “must be released”.
“National needs to come clean on their plans for Nelson Hospital.”
The fear was that the project would be scaled back, and a key indication would be Budget 2025, and the amount set aside for health infrastructure, she said.
“People really want answers about what’s happening with our hospital.“
By Warren Gamble, Nelson Mail
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