Central Otago Health Services Ltd chair Richard Thomson fears that a new base hospital in Queenstown would short change people in this district.

Speaking in the public forum of the Central Otago District Council meeting on Wednesday (June 25), Richard said Dunstan Hospital was a critical piece of infrastructure in the region.

The former Otago District Health Board chair and deputy commissioner of the Southern District Health Board, who is based in Dunedin but spends half his time living in Central Otago, was appointed chair of COHSL in March 2024.

He said population makeup, rather than population per se, drives health needs, and yet Dunstan Hospital had two and a half times more medical admissions than Lakes District Hospital in Frankton.

“Why? Because our population is relatively older and poorer,” he said.

Dunstan Hospital has 24 inpatient beds while Frankton only has 12, but Lakes District Hospital also has a further 10 emergency department beds, while in Clyde there are only two, and by referral only.

Queenstown has more because of its population, which is younger and more risk inclined.

“We could and should build on what we already have to meet these two pressures,” Richard said.

He urged councillors to strengthen their case for Central Otago under the Regional Deal proposal, and from what was proposed in the Otago Central Lakes Health Services & Assets project.

The Strategic Report can be viewed here.

Richard said a base hospital in Queenstown would mean the majority of medical patients would have to travel further for care, because of our disaggregated region with multiple population centres (Wānaka, Cromwell, Alexandra, Roxburgh).

Richard believed we should be focused on health services rather than health buildings, “and a base hospital incorporated into a private facility in Queenstown should not be the only option on the table”.

“We should be building on the two jewels we have rather than replacing them with a single facility further away from home.”

As the Central Otago population grows, Dunstan Hospital could expand medical bed capacity for a comparatively small capital and operational cost.

He said if a private facility was built in Wānaka, Dunstan Hospital could potentially lease space and leverage off its current infrastructure and overheads to provide Wānaka residents with hospital care closer to home.

A proposal by a Wānaka-based property investment company (Roa) for a $300M privately funded project (comprising a five-level hospital with operating theatres, imaging services, a 24-hour emergency department and inpatient, emergency, and post anaesthetic care beds) is currently being considered by Queenstown Lakes District Council. 

“We can keep oncology treatment and outpatient appointments and diagnostics and rehab services closer to home by building on what we have,” Richard said. 

“We already do this well and the same could apply on the other side of the gorge - whether in a refurbished Lakes [district] hospital or in leased space in a private surgical hospital.”

Dunstan Hospital chief executive Hayley Anderson said discharges at Clyde have risen 30 percent since 2020 and chemotherapy services have grown to four days a week, while radiology was operating 24/7.