At the request of the Otago Daily Times and after months of speculation, HNZ has released the breakdown in bed numbers upon opening of the project compared to the original detailed business case.
In February, Health Minister Simeon Brown announced the new Dunedin hospital would have fewer beds compared with the existing hospital and the previously-approved business case.
Today, HNZ finally responded to the request.
They include cuts to the maternity ward from 23 beds to 22, cuts to mental health for older people services beds from 21 to eight, cuts to rehabilitation ward beds from 40 beds to 16, and cuts to the Intensive care/ HDU surgical ward from 40 beds to 20.
In total, there will be 371 beds upon opening compared to 430 beds in the business case — although many departments have capacity to expand over time, with the total capacity of 424 beds.
Most of the cuts have been justified by HNZ discovering a new way of modelling healthcare in late 2024, which has now been explained in the document.
‘‘Health New Zealand now uses a consistent nationwide approach to demand and capacity modelling for hospital and specialty services, moving from 20 different approaches to planning under the former District Health Boards to one approach,’’ the document says,
‘‘Previously this resulted in significant national variation across health facility planning and design including ICU and other bed numbers. Applying the new modelling to NDH has resulted in about the same number of beds but a change in the mix of bed types required, for example decreased ICU beds and increased medical surgical beds.’’
Clinical Transformation Group chairwoman Dr Sheila Barnett said the design of the hospital had been informed by updated and standardised bed modelling for regional hospitals.
“This was based on a predicted shift towards more outpatient and community-based care and a greater alignment with other Australasian bed modelling benchmarks.
“Overall, the New Dunedin Hospital will provide a similar total number of beds as was outlined in the Detailed Business Case, but there is a change in the mix of bed types required and the timing of when they may be needed.”
The new hospital will include a total of 424 overnight beds, including 43 spaces earmarked for future fit out and 10 ICU bed spaces fitted out as interim workspace. In addition, the sixth-floor space included in the hospital design will provide for further expansion over time.”
Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich welcomed the announcement, saying that having a new, fit-for-purpose hospital in the city "will transform the patient experience for the people of the South".
“I’m pleased the southern community has been heard, and that the inpatient building is being built on the right site with the right number of floors.
“Within the large envelope of the building, which is more than 70,000 square metres, there is flexibility to add or change services and technology as needed in the future," he said.
“In the current economic climate, this is a great result for our residents, clinicians, and hospital workers.”
Health Minister Simeon Brown said the government was delivering on its promise.
“In January, I gave the people of Dunedin a clear commitment: this government will build a new Dunedin hospital on the old Cadbury site that secures the future of healthcare in the region.
“We also confirmed an additional $290 million for the project, bringing the total funding to $1.88 billion – one of the largest health infrastructure investments in New Zealand’s history. This is not just a commitment to a building, but to better health outcomes and a stronger health system for generations to come.
“The new hospital will be a state-of-the-art facility designed to meet the needs of a growing and changing population. It will support faster access to care, enable modern models of service delivery, and improve working conditions for health professionals – helping us attract and retain the workforce we need."
