News

(L) Chris White CEO, Southern Cross Healthcare (R) Paul Cocks, GM Southern Cross Wellington Hospital

Southern Cross Wellington Hospital begins significant development project

Monday , 20 March 2023 by Sherryl Arneil

Naylor Love appointed contractor

Redeveloped hospital campus to offer improved facilities for specialist services to Wellington region

The first stage of a substantial development at Southern Cross Wellington Hospital is to get underway this month.

The major expansion, aimed at adding much-needed surgical capacity to the area, will enable Southern Cross Healthcare to expand the core hospital services already delivered at the Newton site, to a broader range of healthcare services.

With spade in hand at the ceremonial turning of the first soil, Southern Cross Healthcare CEO Chris White said the significant investment in the Wellington Hospital will see much more capacity and a modern, sustainable environment offered to patients in the Wellington region.

“Since 1998 we’ve offered a range of expert surgical and specialist services, delivered by some of the best people in the region from this hospital, and now we’re expanding the campus to ensure we are future fit for the people of Te Whanganui-a-Tara and beyond.

“The new campus will make it much easier for people to access a wider range of treatment all in one place, including an enhanced hospital and feature a purpose-built, ultra-modern orthopaedic specialist centre. New consulting rooms and extended rehabilitation facilities are part of the development with plenty of room for additional services to be enveloped into the site, to help further better health outcomes in the region.”

The first stage of the project will see the development of a new three-level building on the site adjacent to the existing hospital. This will house enhanced orthopaedic services including two new surgical theatres, taking the number of theatres at the campus from six to eight, significantly increasing the hospital’s surgical list capacity. Some existing theatres will also be upgraded during the project.

“We currently offer clinical services from this hospital ranging from orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, and gastroenterology through to vital colorectal surgery, gynaecology, and paediatric surgery. We also offer neurophysiology, ophthalmology, oncology and urology and we’re excited at the prospect that a new, modern campus will enable us to increase even further the ways we serve the local population with quality and professional care for which we are known throughout New Zealand.

“Southern Cross Healthcare is committed to helping New Zealanders live healthier lives for longer and our new state of the art facility supports our intention by offering a much broader range of healthcare services to more people in the region and the rest of the country.”

Locals in the Hanson Street area in central Wellington will soon notice the start of construction, with White assuring residents they are taking any disruption into account.

White said, “We are pleased to have appointed Naylor Love to lead the construction of this project and, having worked with them previously, we know their expertise and great community liaison will enable this project to be delivered to an exceptionally high standard, keeping our local community abreast of progress along the way.”

The second stage of the hospital redevelopment will be released later in 2023, including the fit out of the new day surgery facility. The new spaces will support integrated healthcare solutions across multiple disciplines.

Note: Southern Cross Healthcare continues to move towards lowering its carbon footprint and is including products and systems in this development that are more in line with sustainability and carbon reduction. Part of this process includes working with the likes of Toitū Envirocare for its work in measuring carbon emissions across its wholly owned hospital network.