New Zealand Starts $7 Billion Hospital Construction Projects

Health New Zealand Hospital Reconstruction Projects

On November 24th 2022, the Minister of Health of New Zealand, Andrew Little, announced that the first of the proposed national hospital construction projects has been approved. $1 billion has been budgeted for the reconstruction of Whangarei Hospital in Northland which will be rebuilt in 2 stages on its existing site in Maunu a suburb of Whangarei. Construction is planned to start soon and will create up to 500 jobs, including carpenters, electricians and plumbers. It will be the largest construction project in Northland in decades. Northland is a forested, subtropical region on New Zealand's North Island, framed by the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea.

Stage 1

Stage 1 will consist of the construction of an acute services building and a child health unit.

The Acute Services building will comprise

• an expanded emergency department with three times more space than the existing one
• 10 operating theatres
• a coronary care unit
• a large and modern intensive-care unit.

The child-health unit will include

• wards and clinics
• a whanau house
• emergency accommodation so that families can stay with their children.

Stage 2

Stage 2 will be a 158-bed ward tower with

• four medical and surgical wards
• an acute assessment unit.

Whangarei Hospital

The existing Whangarei Hospital was built in the 1950s to serve the north west tip of New Zealand's North Island and support smaller regional hospitals in Dargaville, Kawakawa, Kaitaia and Rawene.

It is a 260 bed district general hospital which provides the usual secondary care services, 24/7 emergency department, intensive care, paediatrics and mental health services. The tertiary referral services are in Auckland just 30 minutes flight away or 90 minutes by road.

However, as Andrew Little reported, the hospital is well past its use-by date. In recent years, Northland has been under extra pressure from a rapidly growing population as people leave Auckland and move north to escape the housing costs in New Zealand's largest city. Additionally, Northland is one of the most deprived areas in the country with a sizeable Maori population and considerable health challenges. 

Previous governments had failed to invest in hospital infrastructure and hospital services in Northland had been unable to keep up with the growing demand placed upon them and the changing health practices. The population of Northland is projected to continue its upward trajectory to reach 210,000 by 2030.

The case for Whangarei Hospital's prioritised reconstruction was unequivocal. Minister of Health Andrew Little admitted that Whangarei Hospital was crying out for attention and said he had been shown the poor condition of the hospital, by locals and staff, in a previous visit. He noted corridors on ward blocks that were in a very, very poor state and the Emergency Department was struggling to cope with the demand that was placed on it.

Although the New Zealand government is facing heavy criticism for major spending driving inflation, the redevelopment is  "a long-term project" and considered to be an excellent and worthy investment to create a facility which is going to be fit for purpose for the next 30,40, 50 years.

Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand's  National Public Health Service director is Dr Nick Chamberlain, formerly the chief executive of the now disbanded Northland District Health Board. He was delighted by the project approval and commented "Health and safety concerns for staff and our patients, the cost of ongoing maintenance and the inability to provide infection control and modern efficient care mean that a new hospital is the only solution."

Working in the medical sector in New Zealand

As New Zealand embarks upon a transformation of its health services, it is a good time to consider working as a doctor or dentist in the country where there are plenty of jobs available offering competitive remuneration, assistance with relocation and professional registration and an attractive lifestyle.

Candidates interested in working in New Zealand's healthcare service are invited to register a CV and contact us to discuss options or sign up for job alerts. Advertised jobs are listed on our website and applications can be made by uploading a recent CV which should address the essential credentials detailed in the job advert.

Information about working in the Northland region and in New Zealand in general is available on our website.