Kaweka Health elective surgery facility continues to progress despite Covid-19 delays
Recent Covid-19 lockdowns have caused minor disruptions in the construction of the new elective surgery complex in Hastings.
Kaweka Health managing director Colin Hutchison expects the opening is likely to move out by a month to June, but could have been further had it not been for some foresight in ordering building supplies and a commitment by local trade businesses to go the extra mile.
He said lead construction firm Gemco and development manager Nick Ward are working on a strategy to claw back as much lost time as possible.
“We’re fortunate that Gemco and its subcontractors had the foresight to pre-order building materials, so as not to be too disrupted by what has become a global building supply shortage.
“They have also committed to working longer hours when possible to try and catch up, but there’s still uncertainty as COVID19 continues to evolve.
“We are looking forward to opening a state of the art facility that is capable of performing up to 5000 elective operations a year, relieving some of the pressure on the health system.
The new world-class medical facility in Canning Road, opposite Hawke’s Bay Hospital, will have four operating theatres and post-anaesthetic recovery spaces, overnight bedrooms, sterilising department, plant rooms, and various staff facilities and storage spaces.
Mr Ward said good progress has been made, despite the lockdown, with the 2,300m 2 roof constructed and external brick cladding work being completed.
He says Gemco with the support of other local trade businesses are presently working on the internal build including intensive and complex building services and fit-out trades.
“We’re lucky that there’s a local team that is committed to getting the facility open without compromising quality.
Gemco managing director Darren Diack says with a range of other large projects the company is involved in, the decision was made early to forward order building materials.
“We did forecast that this could happen, so it was important for our continuity of projects that we safeguarded clients such as Kaweka Health, as well as give our staff confidence of
ongoing work.
Dr Hutchison said the next few months will be busy for the small but growing administration and management team which has commenced a national and international recruitment drive for specialist medical staff.
"New Zealand is a very attractive country for highly qualified specialists to relocate to and a new world-class elective surgery facility will ensure that Hawke's Bay is able to attract and retain more specialist doctors, who can work across both the private and public sectors.
He added that all the specialist equipment, most of which is from Europe, was ordered well in advance and is on track for delivery in early 2022.
