However, we may be waiting a long time before anything comes to fruition.
In February 2023, Mountain Scene first revealed an expansion of the ageing hospital was on the cards, due to Arvida’s plans to close down its elderly care wing, which comprised the rooms, a large dining/lounge area, kitchen and office space.
Last September, Arvida moved its residents to the new care suite and apartment building in the Queenstown Country Club retirement village - their lease officially ended in October.
The wing’s been empty since.
LDH general manager Simon Donlevy says that’s because the space isn’t configured, nor at an appropriate standard, "to immediately place healthcare services in the building".
"To ensure that the use of the space fits within the long-term health needs of the region, an assessment of the layout and infrastructure of the building needs to occur before any future use can be considered."
While that assessment happens, options for its use are being considered, he says.
They include extended clinical space, further office space for Queenstown-based Health NZ staff, or privately-run community health services.
Southland MP Joseph Mooney says there’s a specific discussion required about the vacant wing, and a broader discussion about "what we need to have more health services" delivered here, so people don’t have to travel to Invercargill or Dunedin.
But, "it isn’t easy", he says.
"There are massive competing health demands right across the country, the government’s putting a record spend into health, but the needs just keep growing, including in our community.
"It’s certainly something I’m working on, actively."
