Concept plans released
Melissa Vining concedes today will be tough.
March 13, 2020, would have been her late husband Blair Vining’s 40th birthday.
Vining died in October last year after a year-long battle with bowel cancer. He spent most of that time fighting for better cancer care for his fellow country folk.
It included pushing for the development of a charity hospital in Southland, that will provide healthcare for those living in the region who would otherwise be unable to access treatment through the private or public systems.
The Invercargill Licensing Trust has gifted the Clifton Tavern building as a home for the charity hospital.
Now those behind the project have delivered another gift, a gift that has ensured Melissa can mark Blair’s 40th birthday in a special way.
The architects and project managers have worked overtime to present Melissa with the concept designs for the hospital, so she can release them publicly today.
‘‘Receiving them for what is probably going to be a pretty hard day for us [is great] – we are obviously locked away from our support network which is a challenge in itself. But seeing this just brings so much excitement, it makes it real,’’ Melissa said.
‘‘In such a short space of time Blair’s vision is coming to life because of huge generosity from really talented people in our community.’’
‘‘. . . Blair’s vision is coming to life because of huge generosity from really talented people in our community.’’ Melissa Vining
Boyd Wilson and the team at Invercargill-based Bonisch Consultants are leading the project build.
The plan was to create a multipurpose facility designed with the future in mind.
Included in the designs was an operating theatre to the same standard and size as a full-scale operating theatre. It could be used for more intensive surgeries, rather than the exploratory procedures the Southland Charity Hospital intends to initially perform.
Provision has also been made for a dental suite.
‘‘The needs of the hospital next year may not be the same needs it has in 10 years, so it was vital that we developed a building that would evolve alongside the needs of the community,’’ Wilson said.
‘‘The building gifted by ILT really was a fantastic blank canvas for the Southland Charity Hospital project, and it’s a gift that has really given the project a huge head-start in terms of actually coming to fruition.’’
Melissa Vining has circled August as a potential start date to start gutting the Clifton Tavern and hoped the ribbon could be cut on the hospital as early as Christmas next year.
Although that hinged on three things, she said.
They need $1 million in community donations and at this stage the tally sits at $500,000. On top of that, a host of volunteers are needed to help carry out the build.
They also need to get the required consents signed off by the Invercargill City Council to get started.
While the charity hospital is still some way from being built, those behind the project have moved quickly to ensure there would be some relief for people needing assistance.
They will start to take referrals from GPs with the medical volunteers to operate out of the Southern Cross Hospital, who have agreed to help by providing an interim venue. ‘‘Obviously it’s not sustainable to operate in somebody else’s facility but there is going to be a big increase in demand.
‘‘What this will do, it will not only bring immediate relief to southerners, but it will also provide really important data to hold the Government to account on the lack of care for southerners,’’ Melissa said.