Furniture, fittings, care discussed

THE final shape of the new $1.4 billion Dunedin Hospital remains undecided but the planning group steering the project is already thinking about what will go inside its buildings.

The Southern Partnership Group meeting yesterday for the first time discussed furniture and fittings, chairman Pete Hodgson said.

‘‘It will be several years before the buildings will be in use, but we had a very preliminary look at where all the bits are going to be.

‘‘We also discussed changes to models of care in the old hospital, with what will be offered in the new hospital in mind.’’

Off the agenda for yesterday was the site master plan, the document which will set in place the size, scale and services offered in the hospital.

Originally intended to be announced in December, the committee deferred discussion on the document yesterday to allow planners to do more work, Mr Hodgson said.

Several parts of the final plan remain undecided and each proposed option affects project cost and timing.

The committee was waiting for more information from architects before a final decision was made, hopefully at its next meeting.

Also on yesterday’s agenda were recruitment of the estimated 900strong construction workforce needed for the project, and the hospital’s information and communication technology requirements.

The detailed business case for the new hospital is due to be presented to the Cabinet in March, but that will almost certainly be delayed due to the prolonged debate over the master site plan.