Health Minister Andrew Little has been told it will take more than a multi-million dollar investment for a new urgent care ward, to fix all the problems at the ageing Waitākere Hospital.
Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
Little announced this afternoon the government had pledged $40 million to build a new 30-bed urgent care inpatient ward at Waitākere Hospital in West Auckland.
It was hoped that could avoid clogs in the system that could flow on to create long emergency department wait times.
He began his visit to the hospital to announce the funding with a tour of the maternity ward.
"Hearing the wonderful sound of air in new lungs and meeting a little three-day-old baby - along with representations that the maternity ward needs to upgraded as well," he said.
Health Minister Andrew Little Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
There have long been calls for upgrades to the hospital's substandard infrastructure.
Local politicians have been lobbying for an improvement to the hospital's old buildings and infrastructure, saying they are not good enough.
Waitematā District Health Board chair Judy McGregor said while she was delighted with the funding, more was needed to bring the hospital up to scratch.
The hospital felt a bit "Cinderella-ish" and there was community expectation that the board and the management were to fix its shortfalls, she said.
The next priority would be to have intensive care facilities to give West Auckland a fully functioning hospital, she said.
Little said the government was battling years of underinvestment in health infrastructure and had pledged more than $350 million to the Waitematā District Health board, which also covered North Shore.
The DHB said construction on the new ward was due to begin at the end of next year and would help towards its long term plan to add 320 beds to Waitākere Hospital by 2037.