Source: Radio New Zealand
Wellington’s new Dorothy Spotswood Charity Hospital has found a home in a building on upper Cuba Street. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Wellington’s new Dorothy Spotswood Charity Hospital has found a home in a building on upper Cuba Street in the central city.
The Dorothy Spotswood Charity Hospital, for which the fit-out was being funded by Wellington philanthropist couple Dame Dorothy Spotswood and Sir Mark Dunajtschik, would provide surgical day services on a referral basis, mostly through GPs, for people who did not meet the criteria or faced long wait times to be seen in the public system and could not afford private treatment.
The property at 275 Cuba Street was recently purchased by local investor Mike McCombie, and the charity hospital board signed the lease just this week, with the hospital itself set to occupy its ground floor.
Hospital trust chair Dr Graham Sharpe said finding a suitable premises had been a five-year mission.
Hospital trust chair Dr Graham Sharpe. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Of the three buildings they had scoped, two had turned out to be unsuitable, and the land under the third had been sold mid-process, Sharpe said, throwing their plans into disarray.
Finding a building with ample ceiling height, and which could draw the electricity required for all the medical equipment, had also been tricky.
The Cuba Street site had location on its side, near the public hospital and the main highway, which would make life easier for staff coming in from the Hutt – as would the more than 40 carparks underneath.
The fitout was set to cost $10-13 million, and running costs would be around $1.5m a year, Sharpe said.
It would be funded entirely by charitable donations, he said, and a number of philanthropic groups had already expressed an interest.
“We’ve had some very generous support from professionals, such as architects, planners and builders, many of whom have offered their services free or at a significantly reduced rate because they share our vision.”
Vito Lo Iacono, the hospital’s chief executive, explained they were leasing 900 square-metres of the 1100-square-metre floorplan, with other tenants able to lease the other floors.
Vito Lo Iacono, the hospital’s chief executive. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The building was undergoing earthquake strengthening – set to finish in June this year – and in years to come, the hospital could consider expanding outwards and upwards within it, he said.
Right now, the space was cold and dark, the ceiling a jumble of dangling extractor tubes and wiring above a dusty concrete floor.
But Sharpe said it would soon be transformed into a reception and staff areas, two operating theatres, a recovery area catering for up to six patients, and consulting rooms.
It would only be performing day surgeries, no overnight stays, and would not be taking any patients under 18.
Right now, the space was cold and dark, the ceiling a jumble of dangling extractor tubes and wiring above a dusty concrete floor. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The concept was based on the success of the Canterbury Charity Hospital, and a similar one in Southland, with medical professionals offering their services for free around their paid schedules across the public and private sectors.
“Last time we checked, we had 42 specialist surgeons and anaesthetists willing to work for us for free,” Sharpe said.
The aim was to open next February, starting with one operating theatre for the first six months until systems were in place, Sharpe said.
At first, they would take on procedures like endoscopies and colonoscopies, before moving into eye surgery like cataracts.
The sorts of things he expected they would be doing long term were surgeries for hernias, varicose veins and cataracts.
“These sort of day-case, relatively straightforward, quick things are the very things that get dropped when there’s a problem at the hospital. Emergencies come in, or there’s illness in the staff … these sort of things just fall off the list,” Sharpe said.
“They’re not life-saving, but they are life-affirming and life-changing.”
Dame Dorothy Spotswood (L) and Sir Mark Dunajtschik. Supplied
General surgeon Dr James Tietjens, a member of the hospital’s board and among those doctors planning to volunteer their time, said he and other doctors were seeing increasing unmet need in the system.
“This is a way to try and give access to certain populations that can’t access secondary care, or even primary care at times,” he said.
“People that may meet a hospital waitlist, or meet the criteria and aren’t being seen in a timely manner, or are declined. But there’s also a large proportion of people who aren’t able to access GP care, or GPs aren’t able to get their patients into hospital.”
He expected to see a number of people with hernias and other minor surgeries through the door.
Signing the lease and locking in a location was “a big step”, he said.
“We’re very grateful for all the support we’ve had to date.”
Wellington mayor Andrew Little said signing the lease was “a fantastic step forward for the hospital and I’m delighted to see this progress”.
“Dame Dorothy and Sir Mark have been incredibly generous in their support of health in the Wellington region. Wellingtonians will be hugely grateful to Dame Dorothy and Sir Mark for backing this valuable contribution for the health of our people.
“Initiatives like this take extraordinary efforts, I commend everyone who has played a part in this great outcome.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
