The Otago Daily Times was this week supplied with a copy of a confidential report commissioned by the SDHB on buildings and facilities at Wakari, which houses a wide range of mental health and addiction services.
It found many of the wards were in a parlous state, and their design posed safety and wellbeing issues for patients and staff.
"Staff report that the badly configured facilities lead to longer recovery rates, longer stays in hospital, increased number of patient incidents leading to staff and patient injuries, increased seclusion rates, increased sick leave for staff and a likelihood of increased readmission rates," the report, by Sapere Research Group, said.
Dr Clark, whose electorate encompasses Wakari Hospital, said he was familiar with the issues raised by the consultants.
"I haven't seen the Sapere report but it's been common knowledge for many years that the Wakari facilities, like many other hospital buildings around the country, were allowed to deteriorate under the previous government," he said.
"My understanding is that this report is a preliminary piece of work commissioned by the DHB which will feed into its decision-making around how best to provide better conditions and outcomes for patients at Wakari."
SDHB commissioners were briefed about the Sapere report in May, and told a follow-up report was being drafted.
Commissioners were warned any changes at Wakari were likely to be a decade or more away unless a successful business case for additional capital funding was made to the Government.
"I'm not going to pre-empt the DHB's decisions on this. They clearly have more work to do," Dr Clark said.
"But as the Dunedin Hospital project and the unprecedented capital investment programme for health in our first two Budgets shows, this Government is committed to fixing up our neglected hospitals, or building new ones where required."
Sapere's consultants said most of Wakari's six inpatient and four outpatient wards were built in the early 1990s and little maintenance had been done.
Many structural issues in wards 9a and 9b, including building fabric and mechanical, hydraulic and electrical services needed to be repaired or replaced within the next five years.
The report also highlighted concerns about Wakari's suitability for treating remand and sentenced prisoners.
Ward 9a lacked a suitable secure entry, and its courtroom was not regarded as safe: "There have been instances where judges have declined to attend in person since the courtroom is not secure enough."
Bed numbers in 9a had not increased since its opening, despite significant increases in both the regional and the prison population.
"It would be preferable for Dunedin to have more than one forensic unit."
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And will DHB put up a proposal? Ringfence any government assistance.
IMHO these are the grounds where the new Dunedin hospital should be built and still could be, In the worlds climate with terrorism there is no way a cities major and only hospital should be next to the main police and fire station. The old Cadburys site being transformed into a park with a couple of Cafes and may be a bar thrown in for all to enjoy. And skip updating the Harbour water front. Make high fences for the the park at hillside make the gates of the park being closed at xxxx but have an exit only turnstile type gate I suspect this would be way cheaper than the water front development.
They should shift the hospital build there. More parking, less disruption, not prone to sea level rise, no snow day excuses anymore (and anyway how does Canada cope).
It's also a bit rich of Dr (of theology) Clark to blame Key's government here, if the buildings were built in the 90s then the lack maintenance is as much Labour's fault as Nationals'.