Rebuild fast-tracked

Dunedin Hospital’s rebuild will be fast-tracked due to concerns over the existing facility. The rebuild will now be built in two stages, with the outpatient and day surgery building to be both finished by November 2024 – more than three years earlier than anticipated, Health Minister David Clark confirmed yesterday. The larger inpatient building was expected to be completed within 10 years. The existing Dunedin hospital would not ‘‘last the distance’’ in its current state, Clark said. There is simply too much damage, too much congestion, too many things to work around and no room to do so.’’ Its fast-tracking was conditional on the normal Cabinet and budgetary processes being secured, he said. ‘‘Had we done nothing, the existing hospital would have progressively struggled to deliver adequate services, especially in the emergency department and in surgical services,’’ the Dunedin North MP said.