Health Minister Andrew Little says he will be consulted before any changes are made to the size and scope of the new Dunedin hospital project.
Several sources have told the Otago Daily Times that health officials have held meetings to discuss axing beds, wards and operating theatres from the hospital project, which is budgeted to cost $1.47 billion but which is under severe cost pressure.
It is understood no decisions have been taken about the future of the inpatients building, for which the Ministry of Health has yet to lodge a building consent application, but the outpatient building now being constructed is unaffected.
However, a thorough review of all aspects of the inpatient building project has been under way for some weeks in a bid to cut costs, and clinical staff involved with planning decisions relating to the new hospital are unhappy that services in particular are being reconsidered.
Mr Little, in response to initial ODT questions about the project, said reducing the size, scale or the services to be provided in the planned new hospital "was not being contemplated".
When asked again three weeks ago about the size of the new hospital, Mr Little said that he had received "no advice about proposed changes to the scope or scale of that project."
National health spokesman Dr Shane Reti and National Dunedin list MP Michael Woodhouse subsequently lodged several written parliamentary questions for Mr Little about the project, the answers to which have just been posted.
The minister said that all infrastructure projects were facing major cost increases as a result of supply-chain issues, the war in Ukraine and global inflation pressures.
"My expectation is for all project leaders to take appropriate steps to mitigate the risk of cost escalation," he said.
"Management of cost escalations is an operational issue for Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand.
"Te Whatu Ora has advised that I will be consulted on any change to scope or services before any decisions are made."
Mr Little would not answer specifically when asked by Dr Reti if there had been planning meetings around the new Dunedin hospital in the past month where a reduction in bed numbers were discussed.
"Significant health infrastructure projects see frequent planning meetings by officials," Mr Little said.
"The member perhaps would have known that if his party in government had made any such investment."
In June, Mr Little said the Government had always known that there was going to be a "cost risk" about the budget, but that the new hospital had to meet the needs of Dunedin and the Otago and Southland population.
In his written answers Mr Little denied that the cost of the new hospital had blown out to closer to $1.7 billion, but added "it is a matter of public record that I have asked health infrastructure leads to take appropriate steps to mitigate cost escalations."
