A cancer patient who spent months in Dunedin Hospital says staff were great but the hospital was not.
His family is calling for the long-demanded PET scanner and new hospital, as the government promised years ago.
Bradley Whipp, 20, spent 99 days in the hospital last year after being diagnosed with rare immune disorder hemophagocytic lymphohistiocystosis (HLH) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
"The nurses were good, the doctors were great," he said.
Father Brendon said while the staff were incredible, it was clear that the existing hospital needed to be upgraded.
"You could tell it had seen better days."
It was an tumultuous period for the Whipp family, his mother Sandra said.
"At one stage, the doctors didn't think he would get through it, but Bradley kept fighting.
"The doctors and nurses didn't want to give up either. They were fighting.
"They fought all the way."
Plans for the new Dunedin hospital have been in limbo since September, when the government announced it was replacing the hospital project with either a retro-fit of the existing hospital or a scaled-down version at the former Cadbury's site.
Piles remain on the inpatients building site.
The Otago Daily Times understands a decision is imminent.
Brendon said during the election campaign, the government promised a new hospital for the city with a PET scanner.
That would have made all the difference for Bradley, he said.
"Bradley was too sick to travel for a PET scan.
"A PET scanner could have averted a lot of all those tests they had to do ... the only way they could check his condition was by doing biopsies, which were especially painful."
Bradley, who has Down Syndrome, was one of the 35,000 who marched in support of the new hospital last year.
"He was in a wheelchair and joined in all the chanting and singing," his mother said.
"He really is the essence of why our hospital is so important."
Even before last year, Bradley was no stranger to the health system, at the age of 11 he became very unwell and within a short period of time he was confirmed to have stage four renal failure, leading to a stay in Starship Hospital in Auckland.
He underwent a kidney transplant courtesy of his aunt Christine, at 13.
"The hospital staff have grown to love him, they call him `Mr Brad'," Sandra said.
Bradley has been in remission since June last year.
His recent cancer scare had come shortly after he had moved into a flat and was living independently, with access to a carer, with four of his friends.
"They've left a place open for him; they can't wait to see him again," Sandra said.
She had a message for new Health Minister Simeon Brown.
"We need this new hospital. Bradley needs this new hospital."
