The Southern District Health Board is refusing to disclose the budget for the upgrade or give a time frame.
It is essential to Dunedin Hospital getting its ICU specialist training accreditation back.
The proposal is part of a wider project to revamp the audiology and gastroenterology units. The total package was estimated earlier this year to be worth up to $25million.
The ICU upgrade is delayed - last year the board said it was urgent and needed to get under way by the middle of this year, if not sooner.
Yesterday, it was confirmed the effects of the training loss are wider than just ICU trainees; it also affects internal medicine, emergency department and anaesthetic trainees.
Dunedin Hospital will still have trainees in those areas in 2016, but they need to do a stint at another hospital for their ICU component.
Training accreditation has become a problem in a number of Dunedin Hospital departments because of ageing facilities, clinical supervision and case load issues.
Earlier this month it was revealed the hospital would receive no orthopaedic trainees next year largely because of concerns expressed by surgeons - which have been downplayed by the health board - that they lack resources to adequately supervise them.
The issue sparked a warning from the Resident Doctors' Association to all would-be surgical trainees to avoid Dunedin Hospital.
In a prepared statement, chief executive Carole Heatly said the union's warning two weeks ago had caused ''no issues'' in respect of the 2016 trainees.
''By improving our facilities we are confident that we are moving in the right direction to have training accreditation restored in the ICU and once resolved this will fix any follow on issues with training in ED and anaesthesia.
''We will be able to firm up dates once the business case has been through the process with the capital investment committee.
''We are working closely with the Ministry of Health on the business case and are aiming to have it to the capital investment committee for their August meeting.''
One of the issues that has to be weighed up in deciding how much to spend on the ICU is whether it will end up being rebuilt as part of the $300million clinical services building. ICU is based in the hospital's ward block.
Resident Doctors' Association national secretary Dr Deborah Powell said the union was advising medical, anaesthetic and ED registrars on their options, as they needed to complete part of their training in an accredited ICU.
Dr Powell was also focused on ensuring the general registrars being sent into Dunedin's orthopaedic department to fill the three lost trainee spots would be properly supervised.
''Given the advanced trainees were withdrawn over supervision issues, the use of less experienced doctors in the same [poorly supervised] environment would be a disaster waiting to happen,'' Dr Powell said.
College of Intensive Care Medicine of New Zealand and Australia board member Dr Ross Freebairn, of Hawkes Bay, said the hospital would not automatically get its training accreditation back after the upgrade, and the unit would be fully re-assessed.
The state of the facility had not been the only reason for the withdrawal.
''The college doesn't take away accreditation lightly.''
Dr Freebairn said the standards demanded by the college were designed to uphold the safest possible service for the public.
Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists New Zealand national committee chairman Dr Gary Hopgood said the college was working hard to minimise negative effects on its trainees from the loss of Dunedin Hospital's ICU as a training option.
''Trainees in the southern rotation can still gain intensive care experience at other ICUs, such as Christchurch or in the North Island rotations,'' Dr Hopgood said.
What is the capital investment committee?
- Responsible for allocating health capital investment.
- Advises Minister of Health, Minister of Finance, and director-general of health.
- Its next meeting is August 14.
- At some stage it will also consider the $300 million clinical services building proposal. Source: National Health Board
