Dr Shane Reti told Parliament on Tuesday night a ‘‘solution’’ to the cost overruns seen with the Dunedin hospital project was a staged build.
‘‘Instead of having one great big vertical build coming up out of the ground and you cut the ribbon on day 1 and it all happens, [it would be] a waterfall design methodology, if you like, building in phases so we can get people into new parts of buildings quicker while we then move on to building other parts of the overall project.’’
The statement in the house left a shocked Dunedin MP Rachel Brooking concerned this equated to a ‘‘very major change/cut’’ to the project just as building on the inpatient site is due to start.
Asked by the Otago Daily Times to clarify his comments yesterday, Dr Reti said they were made ‘‘in the context of the health sector generally - the previous speaker had first commented on Dunedin and then on the difficulties surrounding hospital builds more broadly’’.
‘‘The Dunedin project remains under active consideration, as the government works to deliver an important health facility that represents value for money.’’
He said Nelson hospital was a project where the government was ‘‘already looking at a phased option’’.
When asked if he could commit to the Dunedin hospital project proceeding as planned without switching to a staggered approach, Dr Reti declined to comment further.
Ms Brooking said Dr Reti needed to be upfront with the people of Dunedin about the government’s exact plans for the new hospital.
‘‘He suggested a ‘phased build’ was a possible option for the inpatients building. I’m pleased to hear that he has since backtracked on these comments, saying his comments were ‘in the context of the health sector generally’.
‘‘He has, however, made some very concerning comments, so it is only right that the campaign for the inpatients building is reignited. The inpatient building must not be cut - there are no nice-to-haves.’’
‘‘Why is he perpetuating delays to the build which are costing the equivalent of a small house every week; when will he open the books to justify his cost-cutting of $1.4 billion across the health sector including infrastructure; and when will he come and eyeball the people of Otago and Southland to explain what happened to his pre-election promise of an extra $30 million towards an extra 23 inpatient beds, two operating theatres and a PET scanner?’’
Former Southern Group partnership chairman Pete Hodgson said he hoped Dr Reti had confused the Dunedin hospital build with the Nelson hospital project, which would be a modular build.
The idea that you could operate the new Dunedin hospital while it was still being built was absurd.
‘‘You have got to have rocks in your head if you think you can build a hospital while at the same time operating one. I’ve never heard anything like it.
‘‘I’ve only ever heard of the idea that having a live hospital in a construction site is hard work.’’
Meanwhile, Health NZ commissioner Lester Levy told a health select committee yesterday ‘‘everything was under review’’.
When pressed by Ms Leary, Dr Levy would not confirm or deny a vertical build was still the only option for the new Dunedin hospital.
‘‘Right at the moment, there are issues about affordability,’’ he said.
‘‘Just as soon as that work is done, we will have a go-forward position.’’
Dr Levy said he was keen to ‘‘actually understand the structural capacity of the whole system’’.
‘‘Then we can work out what we should be delivering.’’
After the hearing, Ms Leary said the government needed to be held to account.
‘‘What is clear are statements today that everything is up for review - which inevitably means cuts and broken promises.
‘‘Instead of [Dr Reti] trying to walk back his concerning comments about a phased approach to the inpatient building he should come clean about his intentions and the timeline for decisions.’’
