Hospital to serve entire South

It is called the Southland Charity Hospital, but those behind the fledgling venture are keen to extend their invitation for free care to their Otago neighbours.

"While we are based in Invercargill, our service will be available to the whole Southern District Health Board region," hospital board chairman Murray Pfeifer said.

"The hospital is in Southland, but it is serving a wider community ... we are out and about in the region now letting people know that it is every bit as much their hospital as it is for those who live in Southland."

The hospital is still being built, although it is taking referrals for colonoscopy and offering that service through the Invercargill Southern Cross hospital, which is offering the charity hospital its facilities and staff free of charge.

When it opens, scheduled to be mid next year, it will offer a far wider range of services, which are expected to include dentistry and general surgeries.

"We are making really good progress and I believe we are right on target," Mr Pfeifer, a retired Southland Hospital surgeon, said.

"We may not be able to offer everything on opening day but we are expecting all our services to come on stream fairly quickly once we get under way."

The hospital has raised about $2.5million so far of the estimated $5million for the build and $1million to fit out the facility.

It is expected to cost between $300,000-$500,000 annually to run, even though all medical staff will be donating their time.

Modelled on the Canterbury Charity Hospital, the Southland version will follow the same philosophy of offering care to patients who cannot access treatment through the district health board and cannot afford private treatment.

"Canterbury has been highly successful and it had provided mentoring, advice and a huge amount of support," Mr Pfeifer said.

"The population of this area is about half that of the CDHB, which we think makes us a viable proposition ... it provides care for about 1500 people so we expect once we are up and running, pro rata, we would be providing services for 700-800 patients who would not otherwise receive care."

The hospital was the brainchild of late Winton farmer Blair Vining and his widow Melissa, an active board member.

"She is the driving force behind this organisation and without her we would not have got to this point," general manager Helen Robinson said.

"Her name is synonymous with the organisation and always will be."

mike.houlahan@odt.co.nz

 

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