Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall says there will be no further redesign of the new Dunedin Hospital. Photo:
National's health spokesperson says an additional $10 million in funding for Dunedin Hospital is ultimately giving back some of what was previously taken away.
In December, the government confirmed a $200 million budget blow-out, saying it would cover $110 million and make design changes to cover the rest.
The changes meant cuts to beds, MRI units and operating theatres numbers available upon opening, and the loss of a connection bridge and a non-clinical pavilion building, causing a local uproar.
On Friday, the government ruled out any further substantial redesign, while announcing another $10 million for an extra MRI unit and a collaborative workspace.
National party health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti said the second MRI scanner was a good thing, but he wasn't impressed by the government's flip-flopping.
"You know it's a case of taking away and then giving it back," he said.
"The analogy I'd use is you don't think the arsonist is helping you put out the fire."
Dr Shane Reti is not convinced by the government's announcement. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
However, Dunedin MP David Clark said the extra funding showed local concerns had been listened to.
"Constituents I have heard from so far are really pleased that there has been this outcome," he said.
"People want the best possible hospital for the south, it will be the most modern hospital in New Zealand, the most expensive ever built. They want reassurance that they'll get the health outcomes that they need and deserve."
But National's Michael Woodhouse said the additional $10 million amounted to crumbs and the south deserved better.
"This is the number one issue in the south," Woodhouse said.
"Yes there are cost of living pressures, concerns about Three Waters and law and order, but everybody that I'm speaking to puts the new Dunedin Hospital rebuild at the top of their list of priorities and they are deeply disappointed in the delays that have occurred under this government."
The president of the biggest nurses union said it was vital the Dunedin Hospital rebuild was fit for purpose, as the system was over-capacity now.
Anne Daniels of the Nurses Organisation said she was delighted by the commitment to no more large redesigns - but more changes were needed.
"We absolutely need to have the resources to do our job safely and properly and not make our patients wait and suffer unnecessarily, which is what they're doing every day right now," she said.
The Institute of Medical Laboratory Science also said the new hospital needed to be fit for purpose and future-proofed.
Reduced pathology space would also be re-examined in the coming months.
The Institute's president Terry Taylor said the changes had to be made.
"There was no way the original plans for the pathology building or pathology allocation was ever going to be fit for purpose and able to fulfil the requirements of a specialist tertiary hospital," he said.
Taylor said currently the mortuary plans were also not fit for purpose.
Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said on Friday there would be no further re-designs of the hospital as it would mean increased cost and delays.
