A $5 million health facility upgrade in Ranfurly combining the rural town's hospital and rest-home will cut costs and produce a more modern and comfortable environment, Maniototo Health Services manager Geoff Foster says.
In 2012, Maniototo Health Services, which runs the 15-bed Maniototo Hospital, integrated with the Chalet Community Trust, which operates the neighbouring 16-bed home for the aged. This move was intended to cut costs and improve efficiency for both operations.
The next step is to combine services into one building.
Plans have now been completed and the organisation wants to gauge community support.
Mr Foster said upgrading the hospital was considered, but the costs, which included bringing the 1929 building up to earthquake code, were ``prohibitive''.
The organisation instead worked with architects to create a new building incorporating the existing rest-home.
The upgraded facility will include 29 multi-purpose beds covering both rest-home and hospital services.
This was two fewer than the current combined number of beds but more could be added depending on funding, he said.
Individual rooms would be almost twice the size of the current rest-home rooms and would each have an en suite bathroom.
``This will provide better privacy and infection control,'' Mr Foster said.
The current rest-home building would be used mostly for doctors' rooms, community clinics and to accommodate a GP practice.
The new design contained comfortable communal spaces and utilised sun and views, he said.
Part of the reason for the upgrade was to ensure the future viability of the facility, he said.
``The [hospital] building we have is 80 years old now. We want to have a modern health facility that will last us for the next 80 years.
``It'll have far greater efficiency in terms of insurance and energy costs.''
The new development would cater for the growing ageing population, he said.
``Maniototo's percentage of people over 65 is a lot more than the national average.''
The hospital serves about 1800 to 1900 people in a 3500sq km area.
``It's not a huge number of people, but our remoteness means we are are an hour and a-half away from Dunedin or Oamaru and an hour from Clyde,'' Mr Foster said.
The group would like to have the new facility functioning in two years, he said.
``We don't want this to be long and drawn out. If we can't secure funding we will look towards commercial loans.''
Funding possibilities would be discussed at a community meeting but options available included grants, fundraising within the community and possibly money from the Government, Mr Foster said.
The fate of the hospital building remained uncertain.
A newsletter was sent to Maniototo residents last week informing them of the community meeting to discuss the development.
Maniototo Health Services board chairman Stuart Paterson said the community meeting was being held to inform the public of the plans and gauge their reaction.
The community seemed ``reasonably supportive'', he said.
``But that's what we'll find out at the meeting. We need the community behind us.''
The meeting will be held at the Ranfurly Town Hall at 8pm next Tuesday.
