Regional hospital a step closer
Sue Wards / Wānaka App
Queenstown Lakes District mayor Glyn Lewers and other members of the Otago Central Lakes Health Services and Assets Project have welcomed Health NZ’s clinical services review, which begins this month.
The review will look at how needs have changed in this region, with clinical services “the priority” and the location of a regional hospital “the fundamental point of the review”, Health NZ Southern chief medical officer David Gow said.
“This is the news from Health NZ we’ve been waiting for,” Glyn said. “Until recently, despite our growth, Health NZ had no plans for expansion in our area. We’re finally on their radar.”
Glyn is one of the leaders of the Otago Central Lakes Health Services and Assets Project, along with Central Otago District Council mayor Tamah Alley, Southland MP Joseph Mooney, Waitaki MP Miles Anderson, and Queenstown-based ACT MP Todd Stephenson.
The group (which is backed by a charitable trust) has been working with health infrastructure specialist Helen Foot of Markit Consulting since October 2023, with the goal of incorporating public health services alongside existing and planned private providers.
A statement from the Otago Central Lakes Health Services and Assets Project yesterday (Monday July 14) said Health NZ’s clinical services review “clears the way for a new hospital in the region that could complement and support existing health services”.
“It could be New Zealand’s first large privately-owned and publicly operated hospital,” the statement said.
Joseph Mooney said incorporating public health infrastructure alongside current or planned private providers in Alexandra, Clyde, Cromwell, Wānaka and Queenstown would bring public healthcare closer to home for the area’s growing number of residents and visitors.
“We want to work with existing providers and help uplift the service everyone can provide.”
Health NZ’s clinical services review is expected to be completed by December this year.
David Gow said Health Action Wānaka’s ( HAW) report, ‘Perception versus reality: the true state of healthcare in the Upper Clutha’, was “an excellent start” for the review.
Read more: Healthcare crisis for Upper Clutha - report
