Whangārei Hospital rebuild still on track, insists Health Minister

The redevelopment of Whangārei Hospital is on track and all the stages are progressing, according to Health Minister and Whangārei MP Dr Shane Reti.

This is despite the rebuild being marked red by health officials, meaning the project is at significant risk from insufficient funds in the same way Dunedin Hospital had to be scaled back.

Parts of Whangārei Hospital date back to the 1950s and the state of the building is so dire that the roof over the radiology department leaks when it rains.

In 2022, the Labour-led Government committed $759 million to stage one of the rebuild, due to be completed in 2031.

This included a new Whānau House to accommodate up to 20 family members, a new child health centre Tira Ora, plus a new acute services building including a new emergency department (ED), intensive care unit and operating theatres.

The second stage of a 158-bed ward tower and acute assessment unit is not yet funded but its design is being worked on.

During an announcement at Whangārei Hospital on Tuesday about extra funding for senior doctors and nurses, Reti said progress on the redevelopment is going well.

“Whānau House has already been repositioned, we’re making good progress on Tira Ora, and we’re continuing to make business case progress on the acute services block and the tower block, in that order,” he said.

“An announcement has already been made on Whānau House and the blessing was a few weeks ago. With Tira Ora, progress on that will be announced likely before Christmas and the acute services block is likely into next year.”

Reti said all would be progressing and the $759m funding was secured.

But the Health Minister also said the Dunedin Hospital rebuild would be built within the $1.9 billion budget.

Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the Whangārei Hospital redevelopment is progressing well. Photo / NZME

In September, Reti and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop hit pause on Dunedin Hospital’s rebuild because of cost overruns which threatened to escalate to $3b.

An estimated 35,000 marched through Dunedin streets in outrage of the downgrade, and the Nurses Organisation said patients will suffer and die if the new hospital is scaled back.

In Whangārei, clinical staff have raised concerns the rebuild will not be fit for purpose by the time it opens in 2031, because not enough funding was allowed for future growth.

When the Northern Advocate asked about the size of the new facilities – such as the number of outpatient rooms or the size of the ED – officials were unable to answer until the detailed design was completed.

“The change in the number of physical rooms available will be will be determined at the detailed design stage. We expect the changes will increase the physical capacity of each service by around 50%” Health NZ said in an Official Information Act response.

“The ED is expected to be bigger than the current ED. However, the full size will be determined in the detailed design.”

Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.