West Otago Health Ltd chairman Brian Brenssell yesterday called the agreement with the Otago District Health Board "the best news we've heard for West Otago health in years'' and the catalyst to immediately start redeveloping the site and building a new facility to provide health
care for the wider West Otago catchment of more than 2500 people.
It effectively means a return to a fully fledged primary health-care model for Tapanui for the first time in 15 years.
The West Otago community and possibly Clutha ratepayers will be expected to help contribute but those and other important details will be worked through over the coming months. West Otago health staff were told about the news yesterday afternoon.
The full cost of the new facility, how many it will employ, who will pay for it and its ongoing structure, have all yet to be confirmed.
The hospital closed in 1994 and has been largely unoccupied since then but all that will change in the coming months as plans are finalised to demolish the building and construct a purpose-built health centre there.
The group runs health services in the building once used by long-time Tapanui GP, the late Dr Peter Snow, but plans to sell that property once the new health centre is open.
The former hospital building is not registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust and does not feature on the Clutha District Council's list of heritage buildings, which Mr Brenssell said would help reduce any "red tape''.
Details of the health group's plans will be released at its annual meeting next week.
Mr Brenssell said, "She's all action... the real work now begins.''
It will advertise immediately for a project manager to help negotiate the process of finalising plans, arrange consents, negotiate with other authorities and all the other jobs that need to be done to ensure the facility is operating as soon as possible.
The new health centre will need to meet the requirements of a certification process set out by the Ministry of Health.
Once this has been achieved for West Otago, the district health board has agreed it will then provide West Otago Health Ltd with an agreement to provide age-related residential-care services.
The group was well aware of the enormity of the task ahead of it but in an interview in the former hospital grounds yesterday, Mr Brenssell said it was now coming into the most exciting part of what had been a long, drawn-out and often frustrating process.
"We are delighted the agreement reached means that when the elderly of our community require residential care, they will shortly no longer need to leave the district, family and friends.''
The group's annual meeting will be held at the West Otago Community Centre on Tuesday, April 15, at 8pm. It will be open to the public and questions regarding the facility answered after the normal business of the meeting is finished.
