Two days ago the Beehive issued this press release 

“The Government is seeking advice on two options for delivering the New Dunedin Hospital project within its existing funding appropriation to ensure the people of Dunedin get the modern, fit-for-purpose medical facilities they need."

Our hospital is now being subjected to yet another round of down-sizing, reductions in inpatient capacity, staged developments, reduced fit-outs and retention of services at the old hospital site. This has been going on since 2017 when the then National Party Health Minister together with Bill English announced a new "state of the art" public hospital for Dunedin. “Given the scale of the project it is estimated to cost between $1.2 billion - $1.4 billion, making it the largest hospital rebuild in New Zealand history” he said, 8 years ago.

We, the communities of Wānaka, Hāwea, Queenstown, Cromwell, Alexandra, Roxburgh, Lawrence, Ranfurly, Balcutha and Oamaru urge the government to recognise once and for all that Dunedin Hospital is Otago Hospital and is essential to the health and wellbeing of the wider region and over 250,000 people. This is not just a hospital for the people of Dunedin. It provides an essential strategic hub for quality specialist and diagnostics care, treatment and operations for the lower South Island. The fact that it is one of the country’s two teaching hospitals should not be blithely overlooked in matters of funding.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told a packed hall in Wānaka just months prior to the election that his party would build Dunedin hospital, not defer it due to costs as the then Labour government was doing. He received resounding applause. Tax payers do not mind paying taxes for health and education infrastructure. We do mind paying taxes for endless management revisions and to support a series of governments that fail to invest in essential infrastructure.

If something is worth doing it is worth doing well, is a trite but absolutely true saying that governments need to learn. A hospital is not a block of apartments. It is critical health infrastructure that has to perform for lifesaving procedures and if it is to be genuinely efficient it will be built to allow for capacity for decades to come, not built to the 3 or 6 year aspirations of the government of the day. Otago includes some of the highest growth townships in the country.

We recommend the prime minister and the government state clearly that they will fulfil their contract with voters in the 2023 election, that they will build the hospital without delay as it has been rigorously designed by clinicians and planners for the needs of this community. By all means demonstrate best practice in obtaining competitive and efficient process and construction management. But to continually go back to the drawing board is inefficient for everyone.

Just do it!