Temporary ward for Nelson Hospital revamp
Under-pressure Nelson Hospital will be the first in the country to get a temporary inpatient ward as its major redevelopment takes place.
The Minister of Health, Simeon Brown, who visited the hospital with Finance Minister Nicola Willis on Monday, said the 32-bed transportable ward would be installed within the next 12 months.
The ministers also gave more detail on last week’s Budget announcement confirming the long-awaited hospital redevelopment, including a 128-bed new permanent inpatient building planned to be built by 2029.
The cost had not been disclosed for commercial reasons, but on Monday Willis said it would be more than half of the $1 billion the Government had earmarked for hospital infrastructure upgrades around the country.
Nelson Hospital currently has 163 beds and six operating theatres. The Government says the new inpatient building will have 41 extra overnight beds than the current capacity.
Nelson Hospital has been under increasing pressure this year with doctors and nurses speaking out about a crisis in staffing and run-down facilities putting patients at risk.
In April more than 1000 people held a Hands Around the Hospital protest to share their concerns.
Brown said on Monday that while the business case for the hospital redevelopment had been well advanced, the challenges outlined by staff led to Nelson being the first off the rank for a temporary, modular ward.
The extra capacity would also mean that the ageing George Manson and Percy Brunette tower blocks could be seismically strengthened and refurbished – part of the Budget announcement – without significantly disrupting patients.
“This will be a game-changer for Nelson,” he said.
The cost of the temporary wards were commercially sensitive, but funding for up to three had been approved in the Budget.
Brown said the temporary ward combined with the $11 million emergency department expansion expected to be completed early next year and the major redevelopment would provide short and long-term solutions for the region’s health needs.
Asked whether the new inpatient building would provide enough hospital beds to cope with the region’s rising healthcare demands, Brown said Health New Zealand would also be changing its model to deliver more services in the community.
However, Labour’s health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said the rebuild would provide only half the number of new beds than planned under the previous Labour Government’s plan. That included a new $1.1 billion acute services building with 255 beds, eight theatres and a larger ED, amounting to an increase of 92 beds.
“They’re spending half the money for half the hospital,” Verrall said.
Nelson MP Labour’s Rachel Boyack said the Government’s scaled-back plan was “kicking the can down the road” and failed to provide for an ageing and growing population.
Brown said advice the Government had received was that Labour’s plan would have cost $1.8 billion and would have taken more than 10 years.
Willis said the Government would be “judged by spades in the ground, not press releases”.
Brown said the Government also recognised it was critically important to ensure there would be adequate staffing numbers for the hospital. The Budget had seen one of the biggest increases in health spending, he said.
Health New Zealand sent a team of senior clinicians to investigate Nelson Hospital’s issues in April.
Brown said it was completely unacceptable that patients had suffered as a result of delayed treatment. Once the review was completed it would be publicly released, he said.
Nelson mayor Nick Smith said the temporary ward was the “icing on the cake” for the hospital.
He said the Budget announcement about the new inpatient building had been widely welcomed but a number of doctors had been concerned about the next few years until it was built.
The temporary ward would be a “massive relief” for medical professionals and patients.
cut for print The extra 32 beds, the expanded ED and the redevelopment plans added up to a turning point for the challenges facing Nelson’s health services, he said.
By Warren Gamble, Nelson Mail
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