Tauranga Hospital mental health unit upgrade to begin, completion expected mid-2027

Tauranga Hospital's acute inpatient mental health unit - Te Whare Maiangiangi. File photo / George Novak

An upgrade of Tauranga Hospital’s mental health inpatient unit will begin by next month - five years after funding was allocated to initially rebuild it.

A patient says the unit is “absolutely filthy”, with holes in the walls - including one “patched” with duct tape - and paint peeling “everywhere”.

Health NZ says the upgrade - expected to be completed by mid-2027 - will “significantly improve” the environment for patients and staff.

The Ministry of Health allocated $30 million of funding in January 2020 for a new acute mental health facility at Tauranga Hospital.

In May 2023, the business case for a new mental health inpatient unit in Tauranga was yet to be approved.

Former Health Minister Ayesha Verrall had approved a business case that month which recommended “an immediate upgrade as the most effective solution” to the patient and staff safety issues identified at the unit.

Health NZ said the unit would be upgraded to ensure improvements were in place “as soon as possible” for service users, whānau and staff.

‘It’s a total disgrace’

Lisa Middleton, 51, has bipolar affective disorder one and said she had been “in and out” of the hospital’s acute inpatient mental health unit - Te Whare Maiangiangi - since 2014.

Speaking from the unit on March 19, Middleton claimed the air conditioning did not work and the carpet was “threadbare in places and absolutely filthy”.

“It’s a total disgrace.”

Patient Lisa Middleton said the carpet was 'thread bare' in some places. Photo / Supplied

“There’s holes in all the walls, paint peeling off everywhere ... ”

Middleton told the Bay of Plenty Times in November 2022 she found black mould in the unit.

She claimed there was “still black mould here”, which has been disputed by Health NZ.

Middleton said the unit was “bulging” at the seams “90% of the time”.

Patient Lisa Middleton claimed a hole in the wall had been 'patched' with duct tape. Photo / Supplied

Upgrade includes increase of nine beds

In a statement on April 14, Health NZ Te Whatu Ora Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty group director of operations Pauline McGrath said the upgrade of Te Whare Maiangiangi would “significantly improve” the environment for patients and staff.

The building work was expected to get under way by May and be completed mid-2027, she said.

McGrath said the cost of the project was commercially sensitive while negotiations for the main contractor tender were finalised.

McGrath said this was the same upgrade which had been planned “for some time”.

“We are starting work now after taking time for due diligence on this complex project.”

Tauranga Hospital's acute inpatient mental health unit - Te Whare Maiangiangi - pictured in 2020. Photo / George Novak

She said the programme of work had been carefully planned, so it had “as little impact as possible” on patients and staff.

McGrath said its expert clinical teams worked closely with patients and their whānau, each of whom had individual needs and care plans.

“The clinical teams always ensure they take into account what is happening in the environment such as noise, or if there are contractors on site, and this will not change.”

McGrath said common spaces and bedrooms would be refurbished. New fittings and furniture were also part of the refurbishment.

The upgrade would also improve safety and security features, she said.

McGrath said there was “high demand” for the unit. The number of beds would increase from 26 to 29.

She said its focus was for those with “less intensive needs” developing community care options to support tāngata whaiora closer to, or at home with whānau or other support people.

For those in need of intensive psychiatric care in the unit, the number of beds would increase from four to 10, she said.

McGrath said there had not been a business case for a replacement mental health facility for Tauranga, but a replacement facility was part of the site master planning work being undertaken as part of the Regional Hospital Redevelopment Programme.

Asked specifically about the claims of black mould and a hole in the wall patched by duct tape, McGrath said in a further statement on April 16 that the black mould in a shower area had been removed.

She said the damage to the wall, which was unrelated, would be repaired by April 18.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.