Land owner James Reid announced to a packed Lake Wānaka Centre last night his family had applied for building consent two days ago to build a health hub next to the existing Wānaka Lakes Health Centre on the corner of Avalon Station Dr and Cardrona Valley Rd.
Mr Reid's parents-in-law, former farmers Peter and Dee Gordon, were instrumental in providing land and progressing consents for the existing health centre, and its neighbours, the Aspiring Enliven Care Centre and the Aspiring Lifestyle Retirement Village.
The village opened in 2010, the health centre in 2011 and Aspiring Enliven in 2016.
"The intention is we want to develop health services in the Upper Clutha with a focus on the medium to long term," Mr Reid said.
"We are already in discussion with a couple of tenants, one being a day surgery.
"But I would say that I would love to think that down the track the Gordon family would be involved in a small satellite hospital that could assist Dunstan."
Mr Reid was rewarded with sustained applause from the 400-strong public forum, hosted by the Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board chairman Simon Telfer.
"The intention is that we want to develop that into a health hub, which we think makes a lot of common sense, given that there is already a health centre alongside, and the Aspiring Enliven Care Centre.
"Rather than spread health services across Wānaka, it makes sense to have a centralised hub," Mr Reid said.
Mr Reid said Wānaka needed more health services immediately but the family also wanted to look longer term.
After Mr Reid's announcement, Mr Telfer said other practical things were happening to alleviate pressure on Wānaka’s health services.
He understood there would be a substantial announcement in the next month about a health precinct at Three Parks.
The community board-organised health forum was held on the back of concerns raised in a Queenstown Lakes District Council quality of life survey such as demand for access to 24-hour, after-hours and emergency services, and maternity, aged care and mental health services.
The forum panel comprised Dunstan Hospital clinical director Jonathon Wills, Aspiring Medical GP Fiona MacLean, Te Whatu Ora Southern chief medical officer David Gow, Te Whatu Ora Southern group director of operations Hamish Brown and St John Central Otago area operations manager David Baillie.
Also in the audience were staff from Dunedin and Southland hospitals and Carol Atmore, the medical director of Well South, based in Dunedin.
Waitaki MP Miles Anderson was invited but said he could not come, Mr Telfer said.
The panel agreed health services were not keeping pace with the growing town and new solutions were needed for 24-hour cover and increasingly complex health cases.
Dr MacLean explained GPs could not be available after 11pm because patient care the next day would be compromised and GPs were suffering burnout.
Mr Baillie said it was not sustainable for St John to pick up the pieces without more funding.
Dr Wills said he was kept up at night, worrying about what might happen in Wānaka while the ambulance was out of town delivering patients to hospitals in Frankton or Clyde, 90 minutes away.
They agreed Wānaka-Upper Clutha should be considered urban, not rural, and no other towns of similar population were in Wānaka’s situation.
Earlier in the evening Te Whatu Ora Southern group director of operations Hamish Brown had dismissed bricks and mortar as a solution to Wānaka’s health woes saying better services and infrastructure planning were key.
Mr Brown’s words were greeted by silence but the audience later roared its approval when Dr MacLean said she would like to think beyond a temporary after-hours solution and start to think about what a small hospital in Wānaka could be like.
Mr Brown then said to Dr MacLean: "It looks like I am planning for a small hospital".
