A new 10-bed observational unit for Dunedin Hospital's pressured emergency department has been approved, but it is not clear where the money will come from.
The unit, which will boost the present 22 beds, is expected to cost up to $2 million, and should be in place well before the end of the year.
The Southern District Health Board voted for the unit's development in closed session at its recent monthly meeting.
The decision follows years of concern about the adequacy of the emergency department facilities.
In recent months, staff there have been speaking out on the need for some type of short-stay unit to improve patient care.
The hospital is under the spotlight by the National Health Board over a variety of issues, including its poor emergency department staying times.
Southern chief operating officer for Otago Vivian Blake said work had begun on planning the unit, which will be located on the ground floor. Details of the plan were not available.
A variety of patients requiring short stays in the department would use the unit and it was important that the criteria for its use was not too restrictive, she said.
Among those who might receive treatment in the unit would be those suffering from an allergic reaction, drug overdose (if clinically stable), asthma attacks, alcohol intoxication, and some head-injury patients.
Last week, the National Health Board (NHB) panel announced its review time had been extended.
Service improvement manager and panel leader Jill Lane said the panel received more information than expected, and wished to present its findings to DHB staff before formally delivering them to the Southern District Health Board.
"I think there was a lot more interest in people wanting to talk to the team than we expected, which was great.
"We've had so many good conversations with people and we really want to be able to do justice to the information we've been given."
The panel's recommendations would be delivered on August 12, three weeks later than planned.
"Passionate" DHB staff - and some community health representatives - had been eager to talk about hospital issues.
"Staff have been . . . very engaged, are willing, and are contributing very constructively to this process. The DHB has some wonderful staff and they are totally committed to providing an excellent service for the community."
The panel was developing its recommendations and wanted to make sure the assessment did not become a "doorstop" document that was quietly shelved.
"What we want this document to be is something people can refer to and actually be guided [by] as to what are the next steps that need to be taken." Presentations to staff and other contributors to the process would be held in the first week of August.
The hospital review, a first for the NHB, was a learning experience for the national authority, which had decided internal presentations to staff and others were necessary.
Mrs Blake said details were still being worked through, but she expected board members to consider the recommendations at the August 5 meeting, with the opportunity to give feedback before they were finalised on August 12.
