Work begins on new health centre

The first step towards realising a long-held dream for improved health services in Wanaka was taken yesterday, with the start of earthworks for a multimillion-dollar integrated healthcare centre in Cardrona Valley Rd.

Wanacare Ltd wants to open the centre before the 2011 ski season.

The development partners are Wanaka Physiotherapy, Aspiring Medical Centre and Wanaka Medical Centre.

They have provided the capital for the building project. No Government capital funding is available for projects like this.

"I can't believe we are actually standing on site. We were scared if we came here it might not happen," Wanacare member Dr Andrew McLeod said yesterday.

The partners are looking forward to building closer relationships with each other through referrals and shared on-call emergency service rosters, but they will retain their autonomy in the new centre.

Space has been provided in the 1900sq m centre for other tenants, with optometry, radiology and pharmacy pro-viders among those who have already signed up.

The centre is not a hospital. The partners will continue to offer their usual primary health services.

There will be an ambulance bay and provision for regional mobile services such as the surgery bus and the breast screening unit.

There will be a car park for 122 vehicles and about 60 people will be working from the health centre.

The final cost has yet to be worked out, but the development should be completed for less than $10 million, Dr McLeod said yesterday.

The healthcare centre development was integral to the neighbouring Aspiring Lifestyle Retirement Village being able to obtain resource consent in 2008.

However, new premises have long been overdue for all three partners. They have been operating from cramped, renovated houses for many years and the recent property boom had put the price of new central business district premises out of their reach.