Simeon Brown: Health Minister comments on $100million medical infrastructure boost

A $100million dollar boost is being put towards upgrading clinical spaces and key infrastructure,  at hospitals across the country.

Health Minister Simeon Brown's announced the investment for 21 local projects - ranging from more clinical space in emergency departments to extra carparks.

Health New Zealand's also allocating $20million dollars to increasing frontline ED staff.

Minister Simeon Brown says most of the projects will be delivered next year and into 2027.

He says they want to make the current facilities more efficient and deliver more care - it will also provide a number of construction jobs while they're underway.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Is the government spending one hundred million of cash from
the budget on upgrading hospitals across the country. Twenty one
projects will get funding for things like car parks, new
transit lounges, edy upgrades and labs. Simeon Brown is the
Health Minister, and he joins me, now, good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Good morning, how are you good?

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Thank you? Now these new projects tell me when are
they going to be delivered by?

Speaker 2 (00:19):
So the twenty one new projects will be delivered There
is a start as soon as possible. They'll be delivered
over most in twenty twenty six and some of them
going into twenty twenty seven. And ultimately this is about
looking at how we can use our current facilities, make
them more efficient, deliver more care for patients and also
provide a number of construction jobs up and down the

(00:40):
country while they're underway.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Twenty one projects, as you say, across the country, it's
quite a lot. Is one hundred million enough?

Speaker 2 (00:47):
These are mostly small scale projects, the largest as the
new infusion clinic at Menecow Health Park. And ultimately that
making sure we use the space that we've got more
efficiently and effectively. We all need to deliver more into
our health infrastructure we delivered as part of our budget,
also a major investment in Nelson Hospital, major rebuild of

(01:08):
Nowson Hospital. Last friday, I signed the Healthy zeal and
signed the new to need In Hospital main construction contract.
So it's great to get that construction contract underway. So
we have to also be delivering these major rebuilds, but
we also have to make sure we are delivering for
those frontline clinicians in these hospitals so that they're able
to be able to deliver that care for patients that

(01:28):
they wish to and they need to.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah, it's sensible and it's good to see that you're
utilizing existing facilities, but is this a bit of a
band aid solution? Are we doing just enough to keep
these hospitals?

Speaker 2 (01:39):
We have to do. We have to do it the
major rebuilds, but we also need to make sure that
the current clinical space that we've got for our clinicians
and our patients is up to scratch and is able
to be used as efficiently and effectively as possible. So,
for example, one of the one of the projects at
Fungray Hospital is actually putting an integrated operations center in place. Currently,
the operations center is spread across the hospit all bringing

(02:00):
it together into one place means that that hospital can
be operated more efficiently and effectively, So that's a good
thing for the staff there and it's going to make
a huge difference for patients as well. So yes, we
have to do the major rebuilds, we also have to
make sure we're using what we've currently got as efficiently
and effectively as possible to deliver patients.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
And have these hospitals been able to decide what their
priorities are where they need something to go.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yes, it's been that the projects have come through from
the local hospital leadership up to as reallocated the money
in the budget. There's been a process to hout to
identify what those projects are and then we've been able
to sign that off as ministers and now get onward delivering,
which is the key priority from now.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
So will there be more money allocated for further upgrades
in next year's budget, you know, because unfortunately maintenance and
upgrades just keeps coming on.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yeah. Well, look, we can't obviously talk about next year's
budget will be yet. We're still we're just starting those processes.
But there's a lot of work underway at Health New
Zealand looking at business cases for future hospital upgrades. We
announced the Health Infrastructure Planned earlier in this year, I
think was in April, which looked at the ten year
view of what's needed to be delivered for health infrastructure

(03:10):
across the country. A lot of major hospital rebuilds. The
next three big priorities a total hospital, Hawkes Bay Hospital
and Palmerston North Hospitals. So a lot of work going
into the planning for major hospital rebuilds. But as I said,
we also need to make sure we're using what we've
currently got as efficiently and effectively as possible, so that

(03:32):
patients and clinicians have modern, reliable infrastructure and get that
care and a time and quality manner.

Speaker 1 (03:37):
Thank you so much, Minister. That was Health Minister Simeon Brown.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
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