Whangarei's Cairnfield House opens new 20-bed hospital wing

Community member Whare Hauwai, Cairnfield House manager Lesley Middleton and Whangarei mayor Sheryl Mai pass the new nurses station on the way to open the new wing. Photo/Michael Cunningham

The halls of the new Kowhai wing at Whangarei's Cairnfield House will soon be full of chatter and noise as residents start to move into the 20-bed wing.

The hospital wing, which extends from the existing building, was officially opened on Friday in front of about 60 guests, staff and residents.

The expansion is part of the rest home's shift towards hospital care.

Savita Bhana and Daniel Baker bought the property in 2012. At the time, Cairnfield House was a 68-bed rest home.

The pair converted 40 of the beds to hospital beds after getting hospital accreditation in 2014.

"We have enjoyed 100 per cent occupancy for the last four years."

Ms Bhana said the pair then switched their attention to expanding the building.

While it was four years in the making, working through all consents and planning, the wing took about six months to build.

It means Cairnfield House now has 60 hospital beds and 28 rest home beds.

"The reason for that is there's a great need for hospital care, and less need for rest home care," Ms Bhana said.

The 20 new rooms have built-in wardrobes, floor-length windows and shared en suites. As well as the rooms, the wing has an open-space dining room, a kitchenette, a lounge and two outdoor decks with an inner garden.

Ms Bhana made special mention of local builder Ezra Bell, who had completed the job and assisted in previous construction at Cairnfield House.

She said the last of the paper work was being finalised and she hoped the first residents would be living in the new wing in the next couple of weeks.

With the conversion to providing hospital care, the number of registered nurses has increased from one to 12 who provide 24/7 care.

Whangarei Mayor Sheryl Mai was on hand to carry out the ceremonial ribbon cutting after community member Whare Hauwai conducted the mihi whakatau.

Those gathered for the opening were then invited to take a tour of the new facilities.

Cairnfield House was built in 1904 and takes it's name from the ground it was built on, a cairn or stony field. It was converted into a rest home by Ross and Bea Haywood in 1988.