Health clinic build set to start next year
Construction is due to start on a new health centre in Horowhenua early next year.
The owners of Cambridge Street Medical Centre in Levin proposed the new centre in 2017.
Its business development manager Hans Roberti said work was scheduled to begin during the first months of next year.
The centre will have a general practice, a pharmacy, physiotherapy and podiatry treatment, with space for visiting specialists to hold clinics.
Roberti said he would have liked to have construction started by now, but there had been delays because of design changes.
The centre will be built on a site in Durham St by Levin company Homestead Construction and will take about 18 months to complete.
The new clinic would help attract young medical professionals to the region, which was essential due to the aging population of doctors in Horowhenua, Roberti said.
‘‘Levin itself is growing. Current practices are finding it a challenge to maintain current service levels ... By building a new centre you will attract a new stream of young professionals.’’
Roberti said patients using multiple services at the centre would have more streamlined care, because it would be easier for service providers to communicate with each other.
‘‘There will be shorter communication lines and better communication between the network [of healthcare providers]. It makes it easier to have a more personal approach.’’
Horowhenua District Council chief executive David Clapperton said enrolments for health centres in the district had been rising in recent years. It was important to have the centre built before the population swelled as was projected.
He hoped the clinic would appeal to medical professionals early in their careers, because they wouldn’t have to invest in bricks and mortar.
The site for the medical centre includes land that used to be occupied by the Jack Allen House Community Hub, which housed organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and independent counsellors.
Those organisations moved to the Levin Returned and Services’ Association and Community Club building in mid2018.
Roberti said the north-facing roof would be covered in solar panels and, on a sunny day, the panels would produce more energy than the clinic needed to run.
In a statement, Midcentral District Health Board strategy, planning and performance manager Craig Johnston said growth and an ageing population in the region made the need for more health services essential.
Horowhenua mayor Michael Feyen said he was pleased with the centre’s central location.
It would make it easier for residents to access the services they needed.
‘‘Levin itself is growing. Current practices are finding it a challenge to maintain current service levels . . . By building a new centre you will attract a new stream of young professionals.’’