This is despite engineering consultants previously telling the government the option would be difficult and more expensive than building a new hospital and a warning from 44 top southern clinicians.
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora has confirmed it has enlisted five separate firms to take another look at retrofitting the existing hospital.
They are TSA Riley, MBM — who are also sub-consulting to Rawlinsons — Holmes Group and Beca.
Several HNZ clinical staff are also providing input into analysis of this option.
At the time, it concluded: ‘‘if the building cannot be fully vacated during refurbishment to allow removal of existing services, then the technical viability of partial or staged refurbishment is questionable’’.
HNZ head of infrastructure Blake Lepper said it was working with multi-disciplinary teams on the option of a staged development of the existing hospital site.
‘‘Some of these teams are consultants that have been working on the new Dunedin hospital project in other roles, and others are consultants we work with in various capacities across a number of HNZ’s infrastructure portfolios.
‘‘Our process for determining the best option includes analysis of health demand modelling for Dunedin and the wider region.
‘‘It involves technical evaluation of both the existing Dunedin Hospital site and the new hospital site, alongside assessments of clinical functionality and patient need.’’
He did not give an indicative timeframe of the process, but said it was ‘‘working urgently to develop options that deliver modern, fit-for-purpose health facilities that enhance clinical safety and enable new models of care, that can be achieved within the budget set out by ministers’’.
HNZ staff have been scrambling to bring the new Dunedin hospital project under budget, after the government announced in September it would go ahead with either down-scaling the inpatients building project at the former Cadbury’s factory block or retrofitting the existing Dunedin Hospital.
The government has set the new budget at $1.88 billion.
Retired chief executive of Naylor Love Rick Herd said there was ‘‘some merit’’ in looking at retrofitting the old building.
‘‘I guess the biggest question, and I can’t answer this, is ‘What's the seismic rating of the building as it stands at the moment?’.
‘‘Does it need significant strengthening work? If it doesn't, well, then it's probably a relatively straightforward exercise to get areas out and reconfigure or upgrade the installation internally,’’ Mr Herd said.
The ODT has seen several reports by engineering consultants commissioned for the then-Southern District Health Board which concluded that retrofitting the existing building would cost more and take longer than a brand new building.
A letter signed by 44 clinical directors addressed to Health Minister Dr Shane Reti, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon last month warned retrofitting the existing hospital was risky.
‘‘We also urge extreme caution when considering any proposal that attempts to extend the clinical working life of the 50-year-old Dunedin Hospital ward block.
‘‘Recent experiences with even modest refurbishments resulted in a cascade of knock-on adverse clinical ramifications and patient risk across multiple floors of the hospital.’’
Former Labour Party MP Pete Hodgson, who helped lead the early stages of the hospital development, said the entire exercise was a ‘‘glorified pig in a poke’’.
‘‘In the time available, officials will be unable to achieve much more than a back of the envelope analysis for the ward block option.
‘‘The room for error would be high and confidence in the predicted costs would be low. Ministers would be asked to compare that rudimentary option with the planned inpatient block on the Cadbury site where nearly all the design is done, and the costings therefore have a relatively high level of certainty.’’
Mr Hodgson said the price for seismic strengthening would be incredibly high and the actual job ‘‘quite complex’’.
‘‘It is a foolish diversion for officials involved and it is an energy sapping distraction for clinicians and the public alike. It is time to focus scarce analytical resources where savings are possible.’’
