Public opinion sought on plans for Whangarei Hospital

Northland District Health Board is planning a major redevelopment of Whangarei Hospital, in order to continue meeting the growing health needs of the population.

The DHB is responsible for funding, providing and planning health services in Northland, and is taking a long-term approach to acute health care provision through the district's main hospital.

An important part of the long-term planning process involves looking at the services provided to the people of Northland, and ensuring that facilities allow staff to provide the best care possible. As the services the DHB provides and the way they are provided develop and change over time, the facilities need to be flexible enough to adapt to these changes.

Having identified the need for redevelopment to meet future demand for services, the DHB has developed a Whangarei Hospital Site Master Plan, based on projected needs for each service.

The Site Master Plan includes six potential options for the future, ranging from "do nothing" to building a new hospital on a "green fields" site. The Board has endorsed a preferred option, one of four options which involve "rebuilds" on the existing site. This option has been chosen as the preferred option because it offers flexibility and value for money, while minimising disruption during the construction process.

Karen Roach, Northland DHB's Chief Executive, said: "Over the years there have been various changes made to the Whangarei Hospital facility, in order to meet the demand for services. These changes have provided a temporary respite and allowed the hospital to increase its capacity, but they have not been long-term solutions.

"The result has been services that are of a high standard, but operate in a physically fragmented environment. Northland DHB is now seeking to implement well-planned, long-term solutions, to create a physical environment that enhances cooperative and efficient ways of working.

"The development of the Site Master Plan is based around clinical models of care for patients and built on service delivery principles, and we expect that the infrastructure of the redeveloped hospital site will support these models of care."

The DHB is now consulting with the many parties involved with the hospital, from health professionals and health care providers to members of the public and neighbours living in the vicinity of the hospital.

Any redevelopment would be carried out in stages, with each stage requiring a separate business case to be prepared.

Under the preferred option, phase one of the proposed redevelopment includes two stages, with the first being the construction of a new mental health inpatient unit.

If approved, this would be followed by construction of a new three-storey building, which will house a new emergency department; assessment/observation unit; maternity and neonatal units, and a paediatric ward.

Subsequent stages, if approved, would include:

·         The construction of operating theatres on the site of the former mental health inpatient unit
·         Up to three floors of wards above the operating theatres, with each floor having three wards
·         Construction of more outpatient and day surgery facilities
·         Conversion of vacated wards into clinical school facilities and offices
·         Conversion of former operating theatres for ophthalmology, dental and other services
·         Demolition of surgical and link blocks, and formation of a new main entrance roadway.

Anyone who wishes to comment on the proposed redevelopment should write to Site Master Plan, Northland DHB, PO Box 742, Whangarei, or email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .



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For further information, please contact:

Clare Blackburn, Communications Manager

Northland District Health Board 

Phone (09) 430 4101 ext 3315