Further upgrades for Hawke’s Bay Hospital include ED, ICU and 700 more car parks

Hawke's Bay Hospital has been included in a new Government plan to upgrade ageing health infrastructure. Photo / NZME

Four new projects have been announced to upgrade Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, including its emergency department and ICU, and an additional 700 car parks.

However, full details on the projects are yet to be confirmed, including price tags and timeframes.

Improvements to the tired Hawke’s Bay Hospital facility in Hastings have been included in the Government’s 10-year Health Infrastructure Plan announced last week.

That plan identifies more than $20 billion worth of investment needed to bring New Zealand’s ageing health infrastructure up to scratch over the next decade.

Hawke’s Bay Hospital projects featured in the plan include:

• “Remedial investment” and “uplift” of existing emergency department (ED) and intensive care unit (ICU)
• Upgrades to the acute services building
• A new inpatient unit and ward tower
• 700 more car parks

The ED and ICU upgrades have been earmarked for between 2025 and 2029, but it is unclear when the other three projects at the hospital will be completed.

Health Minister Simeon Brown confirmed the projects were in addition to upgrades announced earlier this year for the hospital - namely a $67 million expansion and upgrade of the radiology department and a $28m new 28-bed unit for inpatients (patients who stay at the hospital for more than a day).

Health Minister Simeon Brown at Hawke's Bay Hospital in February. Photo / Jack Riddell

“[It is anticipated] there will be a need for 700 new car parks at Hawke’s Bay Hospital following the completion of these projects,” Brown said.

“Increased car parking is a key part of our plan to ensure people can access hospital-based services.”

He said each project in the Health Infrastructure Plan would require its own business case and would be “subject to the normal Cabinet process”.

Brown did not clarify further details about the upgrades announced last week, including for the likes of the ED and ICU.

“Further details of the timeframes, service uplifts, and costs will be made available as these projects are assessed and progressed.”

The Health Infrastructure Plan noted not all projects listed across the country would “see full investment” within the 10-year period, and construction could continue beyond 2035 for some projects.

“Instead of building single, large-scale structures, the plan proposes a staged approach – delivering smaller, more manageable facilities in phases," Brown said.

Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd welcomed the projects for the region.

“The inclusion of Hawke’s Bay projects in the Health Infrastructure Plan is great news for our region and shows our Government is focusing on the healthcare needs of regional New Zealand,” she said.

In terms of new public hospitals being built, a new hospital in Dunedin is under construction and the Government has plans for a new hospital in South Auckland in the 2030s.

Labour campaigned on building a new Hawke’s Bay Hospital in the lead-up to its unsuccessful 2023 election.

Kaweka hospital nearing completion

Kaweka Private Hospital in Hastings, across the road from Hawke’s Bay Hospital, is almost finished and on track to open its second stage around July.

The first stage of the hospital was opened in 2022 and the second stage - a three-storey building with state-of-the-art facilities - is nearing completion.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.