Pathology lab workers and clinicians have had a turbulent relationship with the new Dunedin hospital project — the varying business cases have omitted an on-precinct fully operational diagnostic pathology laboratory in the design.
In 2023, a paper commissioned for then-health minister Ayesha Verrall proposed a 4000sq m standalone building on the precinct as the best option for the diagnostic services for the hospital and the greater Otago/Southland region.
However, the ODT understands there has been considerable work in the background to find a solution for a department that has capacity issues, and the "shelled" sixth floor of the new hospital is now being considered as an interim location.
The ODT specifically asked Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) whether pathology was being considered for the sixth floor.
"Health NZ continues to work towards the best solution for pathology, an essential service for the new hospital," a spokeswoman said.
"This includes consideration of the best possible location for the lab."
Former Labour health minister Pete Hodgson, who led the early stages of the new Dunedin hospital project, said he had suggested such a move "a long time ago".
"It would be a good way to use the sixth floor for the next decade or so, until the hospital needed expansion, at which point another pathology facility would need to be found."
Work on the new Dunedin hospital’s inpatients building resumed last month, after months of delays to the $1.8billion project.
The government is yet to sign the contract with Australian construction giant CPB.
Mr Hodgson said until that contract was sorted, much of the future planning was up in the air.
"I’m just waiting for everybody to get their feet back under the table and get the contract signed with CPB, and then we start looking at the gaps — pathology is undoubtedly one of the gaps."
"Laboratory work affects about 70% of the clinical decision-making that actually happens within the hospital, so having it located as a central part of the hospital is critical."
It was a "major deficiency" pathology was ignored in business cases for the new Dunedin hospital, he said.
"Whether there is sufficient space in the proposed new hospital rebuild for everything that’s needed is another question, but the case for a pathology laboratory being there is very, very strong."
The new Dunedin hospital project has been plagued with difficulties, and in September last year the government paused the project for several months, as it assessed other options, including retro-fitting the old hospital.
In January, it settled on building a brand-new hospital at a cost of $1.8b.
The new Dunedin hospital will have 371 beds upon opening, 25 fewer beds than the existing hospital — but it could increase to 424 over time to meet demand.
It is expected the inpatients building will open in 2031; the outpatients building should open late next year.
Mr Powell, a founding member of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, said poor political decision-making had held back progress on the hospital and the health system.
"If you want to look at what is the prime reason for the health system being in the mess for as long as it has, more than anything else, it’s been the calibre of political leadership."
