Health Minister Annette King symbolically turned the first sod yesterday for a $110 million redevelopment of Tauranga Hospital.
"They obviously think I am very weak because they have dug the hole for me," she joked as she slipped the spade down and easily lifted a small, neat square of turf.
Tauranga had waited a long time for a new hospital and she was "quite amazed" at how well the community had done with what it had, the minister said.
The rate of population growth in Western Bay of Plenty, particularly among older people, made the region unique and it deserved a modern and expanded secondary hospital facility that met the growing need for health services.
Ms King said the new five-year redevelopment on the existing Cameron Rd site was a big investment in bricks and mortar, beaten only by the money ploughed in to Auckland, Wellington and Waikato hospitals.
"This is the largest public health project in the Bay of Plenty since the current hospital was built in the 1960s," she said.
"As you know, the Government is in the middle of the largest hospital rebuilding and refurbishing programme ever undertaken in this country, with more than a billion dollars spent or committed so far."
But modern healthcare was more than just bricks and mortar; what was provided within was what really counted. The redesign of health care services was an integral part of Tauranga's redevelopment project, Ms King said.
"It will produce new ways for nurses, clinicians, allied health and support staff to work together, not just in the hospital but also with primary care providers, to deliver a quality health service to the region."
Existing buildings are being upgraded and new wards, operating theatres, an emergency department, maternity unit and other facilities are to be built.
The minister looked at a new 300-space carpark and helipad on Clarke St below the main campus which will soon be served by a lift up to the hospital.
Another early part of the upgrade has seen the former nurses' home, Jacaranda House, refurbished for clinics and offices on the first two floors. The third floor houses a "medihotel" for out-of-town patients and their relatives, while the fourth storey accommodates trainee interns.
