Last month, the Queenstown Medical Centre announced it will shut the doors to the Arrowtown Medical Centre in mid-September, when it moves its Remarkables Park clinic into a larger, purpose-built space at Remarkables Park.
Concerned about the loss of medical services to the village, Arrowtown Promotion and Business Association chair Benje Patterson suggested the Arrowtown Community Centre, located on flat, accessible land, owned by Queenstown’s council, could be extended to provide rooms for at least a couple of GPs, several days every week.
If council offered the land at a peppercorn rental, and another funder, such as Central Lakes Trust, was persuaded to fund the capital works, the finished space could be rented to a medical provider at a relatively-low cost.
When asked what he makes of the idea, Lewers tells Mountain Scene council’s open to "any unsolicited projects ... that’s how things usually get moving".
"So, if [Patterson] can put it all together and get it in front of us, we’ll certainly have a look at it.
"It’s a good idea ... bring it forward."
While Lewers says the council process, required under the Local Government Act, can often take a fair whack of time, Patterson’s hopeful the project could move at some pace.
He notes the building’s already set aside for community use, including wellbeing, and the extension would be modest and practical.
"[GPs] need two or three consulting rooms ... a sink in each room, a waiting room [and] bathrooms.
"It’s not like you’re building a mini-hospital."
If a funder provided capital for the modification or extension as a grant, "that’s kind of easy", but if it was put forward as a social impact investment, through which the funder would seek a modest long-term return, it would become "a wee bit more complicated from a commercial perspective for council".
"But it’s certainly not something that’s insurmountable, because they charge existing users of it some sort of fee, and some of those people that make use of the space are actually earning money as a business," Patterson says.
He’s continuing to further develop the concept, and intends to commission some high-level concept plans.
