Rebuild at hospital placed on wait list

The rebuild of Palmerston North Hospital’s mental health ward, deemed urgent by the Ombudsmen’s Office in 2016, will be waiting until at least Budget 2019 or 2020 for Government approval to spend $30 million on the project.

The Ward 21 overhaul has made it on to a $2 billion Health Ministry ‘‘indicative’’ list for capital spending on hospitals that has been given priority for the next two Budgets.

But Palmerston North Hospital’s site redevelopment plan based around a new acute services block, which is estimated to cost $369m, is on a $3 billion wish list that will be waiting longer.

In a letter to Midcentral District Health Board chairwoman Dot Mckinnon, director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield explained mental health facilities had been given priority over other ‘‘necessary’’ investments.

He acknowledged the decision on the hospital redevelopment would be ‘‘disappointing’’, but the demand for health spending was more than could be afforded.

Finance and corporate services general manager Neil Wanden said even though getting reliable census data as a baseline was a challenge, the board was not planning something that would be appropriate for population needs in 2025, but well into the future.

Meanwhile, chief executive Kathryn Cook said the priority was to be well prepared for the mental health facility upgrade.