$40 million funding boost for new ward at Waitakere Hospital

Waitematā DHB welcomes today’s announcement of a $40 million funding package to build a new 30-bed inpatient ward at Waitakere Hospital.

Construction on the new ward is planned to begin at the end of 2022 and is aligned with the Northern Region Long Term Investment Plan, which forecasts that 320 additional inpatient beds will be needed at Waitakere Hospital by 2037.

“The drive for upgraded and new facilities at Waitakere Hospital is Waitematā DHB’s number one development priority, strongly supported by the Board and many in the local community,” says Chief Executive Dr Dale Bramley.

The funding was announced at the hospital this afternoon by Minister of Health Hon Andrew Little.

“Waitematā DHB has continuously invested in Waitakere Hospital to ensure efficient, high-quality care. However, existing facilities are now at capacity - this latest development is an important and exciting stepping stone towards better health outcomes and resources for the West Auckland
community.”

In the past six years at Waitakere Hospital, the DHB has; installed two new CT scanners, upgraded the Emergency Department to include 52 treatment spaces, created a new endoscopy room for bowel screening, provided 11 additional children’s health beds and 15 additional general medicine beds.

The DHB also began a major upgrade of the hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit earlier this year that will enable parents to stay overnight when their pēpi need specialist care.

“These significant investments have seen substantial increases in the DHB’s ability to safely manage a much higher volume of presentations to ED and general medicine, due to these services better matching the needs of the local population,” says Dr Bramley.

“This new ward will help further bolster improvements in patient care. For the DHB and for West Aucklanders, the Minister of Health’s funding announcement today marks the next phase of Waitakere Hospital’s development.”

Waitematā is the largest and one of the most rapidly growing DHBs in the country, serving a population of around 650,000 across the North Shore, Waitakere and Rodney areas, this number is expected to reach nearly 700,000 by 2025. West Auckland’s population of 273,000 is projected to
reach near 353,000 by 2043.

Overall master site planning for Waitakere hospital is well-advanced and consists of refurbishing existing buildings and building new facilities, including more wards, as well as expanding the scope of services available to the local community. Further business cases are in development as part of this
ongoing programme of work.