It was fitting that the Monte Christo winery hosted the Dunstan Hospital Foundation official launch in Alexandra on Thursday night.

Owner Stanley Paris told invited guests that the winery founder Jean Désiré Féraud back in 1864 was on the original Dunstan Hospital board, and used to collect old medicine bottles to use for his cellar and brewery.

“Everyone has a story about the hospital,” he said.

The charitable trust has been launched to protect and expand the district’s publicly funded and community owned rural hospital.

Foundation chair Warwick Deuchrass said Dunstan Hospital had done remarkably well to service the growing population across the district, “but we are at a turning point.”

The foundation was looking for partnerships within the community, both personally and professionally to help fund new service expansions and equipment, and move beyond the basics.

“The time is now. Let’s push the boat out,” he said.

Patron Sir Sam Neill has already started the process, having raised over $100,000 since 2023, through his posh picnics that are held every two years for the 140 wine club members of his Two Paddocks vineyard.

https://centralapp.nz/NewsStory/sir-sam-neill

Sam was diagnosed with stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma - a form of blood cancer - in 2022, and underwent chemotherapy treatment after his cancer diagnosis.  

He told Dunstan Hospital CEO Hayley Anderson that it was a remarkable place and so humble looking, “you wouldn’t even notice it was there,” - until of course you needed it.

Monte Christo owner Stanley Paris (right) talks with Mayor Tamah Alley and Santana Minerals executive director Damian Spring.  

Hayley expanded on Sam’s words that Dunstan Hospital was a remarkable place, and agreed it had a magical culture, “and there is something special about being owned by the community. It’s our own secret sauce.”

There have been other fundraisers from locals including cancer patient Chris Flannery’s annual golf tournament that brings in $40,000 and Alexandra Rotary event that paid for an $8000 immunisation fridge.

Describing Chris as the “Dunstan hero,” she said the community was their super power, and this was something the foundation wanted to build on.

Trustee Richard Thomson said there was no capital injection coming for the South Island in health care, and so top priority for the trust is to build up an endowment fund that can be invested.

Central Otago Health Inc chair Caroline Tamblyn (left) chats with Polly Clague from Santana Minerals.

Among the first projects on the wish list is an upgrade for the hospital’s oncology treatment area. 

The unit now operates four days a week, but the space is designed for just three treatment chairs.

“It’s far from satisfactory,” Richard said.

Another priority is expanding the emergency department, which currently has just two beds.  

“If we could redevelop the oncology unit that would free up the space for ED.”

He said if they start funding their own projects as a solution for the Government, then they are far more likely to get the funding to operate the spaces.

Ninety-three percent of the population in Central Otago and Upper Clutha who need a medical bed will be admitted and treated at Dunstan Hospital.

Outpatient services have continued to grow over the past few years, “we have these services and we will build these services,” Richard said.

The Health New Zealand Endoscopy Service at Dunstan Hospital plays a vital role in diagnosing and preventing serious gastrointestinal conditions such as bowel cancer.

 Demand for this service has grown significantly and over the past year they have worked with the HNZ  Gastroenterology Department in Dunedin to expand the service from one day per month to

three.

Last year alone, Dunstan’s endoscopy team carried out approximately 400 procedures — each one reducing travel time, improving access, and supporting early detection and better outcomes for patients.