Medical hub gets green light
A $3 million medical hub in O¯ torohanga has the green light from the district council and is on track to open its doors by June next year.
Construction on the site is set to begin before September.
The O¯ torohanga District Council has set aside $1.5m in loan funding for the hub, which will be built on council-owned reserve land off Kakamutu Rd, near the St John Ambulance Centre.
It will be double the size of the current medical centre and has been pitched as a ‘‘mini hospital’’ with extra services that locals would otherwise have to go to Waikato Hospital for.
It’s designed to ease the stress of travelling to Hamilton and relieve Waikato Hospital’s often packed ED.
The hub will be able to offer a comprehensive radiology and ultrasound service as well as general practice services.
O¯ torohanga District Council Mayor Max Baxter said virtually the entire town was supportive of the new centre, to be owned by the Otorohanga ¯ Charitable Trust.
It was all thanks to a $1m charitable donation made by farming Otorohanga ¯ locals John and Sarah Oliver, he said.
Rural General Practice Network chief executive Dalton Kelly said such initiatives are important as they mean those living rurally will be less inclined to head to an emergency department when something is wrong.
‘‘That’s unfortunately what happens. Some communities do tend to use the emergency department as their general practice. And certainly that’s not what they’re set up for.
‘‘It sort of becomes a one stop shop for the community.
‘‘The whole concept sounds wonderful.’’