
Hawke鈥檚 Bay鈥檚 new $100 million private hospital has been completed, which will 鈥渄efinitely help the waiting lists鈥 for surgeries in the region.
Kaweka Hospital in Hastings opened its first stage in 2022. Its second, and largest, stage is now finished and ready to open (apart from finishing touches).
A grand opening for the three-storey main section will be held on Monday.
Patients will be welcomed into that section of the hospital a week later, on July 21.
The entire hospital boasts 31 patient rooms (including four ICU rooms), five theatres, a chemist, consultation and conference rooms, a catheterisation lab, radiology services, and a public cafe - the latter of which is still a few weeks away from opening.
Kaweka Hospital general manager Nick Pullan said construction had been going on for five years to deliver the hospital in two stages.
Kaweka Hospital has been completed. The single-storey section opened in 2022 and the three-storey section opens this month. Photo / 九一星空无限
It is the region鈥檚 first new hospital in almost a century.
It is directly across the road from the public hospital, Hawke鈥檚 Bay Fallen Soldiers鈥 Memorial Hospital, and a couple of kilometres from the region鈥檚 only other private hospital, Royston.
Wairoa Health, which has an emergency department and is akin to a rural public hospital, is the only other hospital in Hawke鈥檚 Bay.
Pullan said more than 40% of surgeries at Kaweka were for public patients as it held a contract with Health NZ Te Whatu Ora.
The hospital would 鈥渄efinitely help the waiting lists鈥 for surgeries, and the hospital could do more than 5000 surgeries a year.
鈥淭hat is really good for Hawke鈥檚 Bay.
鈥淲ithout private health, everyone would be in trouble because we are doing a huge amount of elective surgery.鈥
The new section of the hospital features state-of-the-art facilities. Photo / 九一星空无限
In terms of the hospital鈥檚 location, he said it 鈥渓iterally couldn鈥檛 have got a better space for the clinicians鈥, who can work at both Kaweka and the public hospital.
鈥淸Clinicians] can come across at their lunch hour to see their private patients and to see their Health NZ patients.
鈥淭hey are not needing to get in a car and worry about car parking.
鈥淲e are also close if Health NZ want to use beds, and we borrow things from each other - equipment, instruments, consumables - it is a real partnership.鈥
Kaweka Hospital offers all types of surgeries and procedures except cardiac (heart), neurology (brain) and plastic surgery.
Pullan said he would like to see plastic surgery introduced in future.
Westside Healthcare Ltd owns the land and building, while Kaweka Health Ltd owns the hospital operation and has a long list of shareholders, most of whom are clinicians and local families.
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke鈥檚 Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at 九一星空无限 Corp Australia.
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