Dreams for a new charity hospital in Invercargill are one step closer to reality with the first strike of a sledgehammer.
Melissa Vining was the first to strike the sledgehammer. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
The mission is to transform a suburban pub into a hospital where Southlanders who aren't covered by the Southern District Health Board can access colonoscopies and dental care for free.
It is the brainchild of cancer care advocate Blair Vining who died last October after a year-long battle with bowel cancer.
His wife Melissa Vining struck the first blows today after the former Clifton Club Inn was donated by the Invercargill Licensing Trust in February.
She said it was a momentous day.
"I did feel a little bit emotional in the first time that I swung the sledgehammer because I was thinking of Blair and how he'd be so proud," she said.
The hospital will be home to an orthopaedic grade operating theatre, a dental suite, about eight recovery beds, community room, consulting rooms and a memorial garden for Blair.
The hospital would be able to adapt to the greatest need of the community, Melissa said.
"Southland-Otago has the worst rates of bowel cancer in New Zealand and one of the contributing factors to that is the low intervention rate - so not being able to access colonscopies. Our overall goal will be to put an end to [that]... and actually having a direct impact 'cause if caught early, bowel cancer can be cured, and that's the reward of helping people in our community."
Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
So far, the community has raised roughly $2.2 million for the hospital through fundraising and donations.
Vining said they would need another $2 million to complete the build with full labour costs and another million for equipment.
"I know first-hand what it feels like when the person you love needs help and is unable to access it in the public system. It is a state of trauma, panic, constant concern, and for a large amount of our patients getting that colonoscopy - just getting that certainty - makes things a lot easier to cope with."
The hospital will be staffed by medical professionals volunteering their time, with other volunteers filling the other vital roles.
It should be able to help about 12 people a day depending on the availability of specialists and demand.
About 110 volunteers have signed up, but the hospital's general manager Helen Robinson invited tradies and medical professionals in the region to get in contact with the hospital.
She said the community support had been phenomenal.
"Everybody sadly in this day and age has some experience [of cancer], so I think that's why it's been so important for people. I think also this year, Covid has been a pretty testing time for everybody so I think it's also been really helpful for businesses, for schools, for groups of people that have got together and done something really positive - whether that's been raising money for us or just participating in Red, Black and White day."
The kitchen will stay, but the jury is out on the bar.
Standing in the former keg cool room with grimy pipes sticking out and beer lists on the wall, Robinson said it would soon play a very different role - first as a consultation room and then hopefully as a counselling space.
A $100,000 donation from Rio Tinto - the majority owner of nearby Tiwai Point smelter - added to the celebratory mood.
The smelter's chief executive and general manager Stew Hamilton said the donation would help to fund the build.
"The Southland Charity Hospital is a very worthy recipient of this funding. Although cancer treatment services were largely maintained during New Zealand's Covid-19 lockdown earlier this year, the delay in screening services during that period will have had an impact on some patients," Hamilton said.
"This facility is going to make a real difference to people's lives by providing healthcare for those who would otherwise be unable to access treatment."
Bonisch Consultants managing director Boyd Wilson said the former pub was a standout site for the new hospital with great bones.
Wilson said the site saved roughly 12 months compared to if they started with a blank canvas and empty land.
More than 9000 bricks and 500 plaques sold through the 'Buy a Brick' campaign will be used to line the path from the carpark to the front door.
Melissa Vining said she hoped the new charity hospital would be open for business before Christmas next year.