One of the treatment areas in Nelson Hospital’s upgraded emergency department.
Photo: Samantha Gee / RNZ
The upgrade of Nelson Hospital’s emergency department has been completed, increasing capacity for patients in need of urgent care – but the health minister says there remains a bed shortage, which the government is working to address.
Simeon Brown officially opened the new emergency department in Nelson on Monday.
“This hospital is needing significant investment and we’re proud to be here to celebrate this milestone which is the first step in the major rebuild of this hospital.”
The $10.6 million upgrade began last October and took a year to complete.
Brown said for too long, Nelson Hospital had outdated facilities and too few beds and the upgraded emergency department was a significant step for patients and frontline clinicians, who desperately needed modern, reliable infrastructure.
Health Minister Simeon Brown in the new emergency department at Nelson Hospital.
Photo: Samantha Gee / RNZ
The redevelopment of Nelson Hospital has been on the table for a number of years, due to increasing demands from a growing population. The government announced in May it would spend $500m over four years to build a five-storey inpatient unit with 128 beds and an energy centre, and refurbishing existing buildings, including seismic upgrades.
The new emergency department was 200 square metres larger and included 29 treatment spaces (five more than in the previous ED), four new observation bays and one observation room, along with two new isolation rooms.
Brown said the upgrade would not have a huge impact on operations until there was more bed capacity in the hospital.
“I accept we need more beds, and that’s why the new modular bed unit is of critical importance so there’s more capacity in this hospital so that we can reduce bed block, but also importantly get on top of those elective wait lists which we know here are very long.”
The upgraded emergency department at Nelson Hospital.
Photo: Samantha Gee / RNZ
It was announced earlier in the year Nelson Hospital would be the first to receive a temporary, modular 28 to 32-bed inpatient ward under the government’s rapid build hospital programme.
Brown said it would allow for hospital services to move during seismic strengthening and provide extra beds to improve patient flow as the new 128-bed permanent inpatient building was being built, due to be complete by 2029.
“They certainly can’t come quickly enough, we appreciate that, but this is a real priority for the government, making sure that Nelson has the modern hospital infrastructure that is needed for this community.”
He said Health NZ was working to ensure there were enough staff for the new facilities.
There had been additional senior medical officers approved for the emergency department, another 10 resident medical officers due to start at Nelson Hospital next year and 70 additional staff approved to work in the new temporary inpatient ward unit.
Health Minister Simeon Brown and Nelson Mayor Nick Smith opening the new emergency department at Nelson Hospital.
Photo: Samantha Gee / RNZ
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said the refurbished emergency department gave the community confidence that Health NZ was actually delivering facilities to improve the standard of care for residents.
“It’s no secret that Nelson Hospital has had a difficult few years with concerns over bed numbers, over staffing as well as the state of the facilities. There’s been quite a lot of angst in the community where development proposals for our aged hospital had not gone through to delivery.”
He said along with recent announcements of 10 new registrar roles and the temporary inpatient unit, it felt like there was a “rolling maul of action and delivery” to make a difference in the region’s healthcare services.
Smith said the emergency department upgrade was relatively small-scale but it showed that a staged development process was able to deliver improved health services.
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