The Dunedin City Council estimated a total of 35,000 people joined a march to the Octagon last year, to protest the government’s then proposal to either scale back the city’s new hospital or retrofit the old hospital site.
Yesterday, newly-minted Health Minister Simeon Brown announced the government had settled on building a new $1.88 billion inpatient building on the Cadbury site, with all floors retained.
"The public of Dunedin and the region deserve a great pat on the back and a huge vote of thanks," Mr Radich said.
"Thirty-five thousand in the streets of Dunedin, they’re pivotal, and the government has listened."
The city could feel "reasonably confident" healthcare needs in the southern half of New Zealand would be taken care of, and was in a good position to lobby and discuss with the government in the future, Mr Radich said.
As demand grew and funds became available, he believed the government would be able to provide "everything required" and envisioned the addition of more services and facilities.
"The structure is being built, a full and complete structure ... that’s a big win for the people of the region."
Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher said the announcement was "as good as we could have hoped for".
Dunedin’s was the main hospital for the people in the southern end of the Waitaki District, and was used for more serious matters by the rest.
Yesterday’s announcement gave a sense of security which would be much appreciated by their community, he said.
They did not care what the building would look like, only what was "actually delivered inside it".
"We’re still working on a permanent solution to the transport issue of getting, for a lot of our more vulnerable people, to and from the hospital.
"If we can get that sorted, if we’ve got good parking when we get there, that just helps level the playing field a little bit for the rest of us in more rural Otago."
Clutha District Mayor Bryan Cadogan said he was hopeful following yesterday’s announcement.
"But there have been too many twists to this story to take it on face value.
"I’ll be looking at the details."
From a regional perspective, the devil would be in the details and he was interested to see the full impact of the announcement in the coming weeks.
"It’s a step forward, but how far forward?"
Cr Sophie Barker said she walked into a cafe after hearing the Minister’s announcement and told people the news.
But people had already heard, as it had spread "like wildfire" around the city.
"People were very excited and relieved, I think, because retrofitting the old hospital — what a terrible idea, that was just fearsome."
Cr Andrew Whiley said yesterday’s announcement was "definitely a positive outcome" for the people of Dunedin and the southern region, but it was not a perfect one.
It would, however, greatly support improved health outcomes in the region and provided assurance the hospital was staged for future growth, he said.
