Hospital buildings ‘replacement only’

Press, 18 December 1986, Page 9

Hospital buildings ‘replacement only’

The redevelopment of Christchurch Hospital was exciting but it had to be seen in the correct perspective, the Canterbury Hospital Board was told yesterday. Mr Bill Utley, chairman of the board’s works committee, said yesterday it was important that people realised the new buildings were merely replace-

ments for very old and unsatisfactory existing buildings. “This is not the building of a massive and large new hospital service in Christchurch — the whole project is just a replacement exercise.” Mr Utley said the Canterbury Hospital Board was probably the last hospital board in New Zea-

land to have its old buildings replaced. “This is rebuilding for which planning was started 15 years ago. Most other hospital boards have had their rebuilding programmes completed.” Originally, the board had wanted a 10-storey building which would have provided 1000 more beds but it had been re-

stricted by the Health Department to the hospital’s existing capacity, said Mr Utley. The Government announced its approval earlier this month for the $lOO million third stage of the redevelopment. This includes a five-storey main building, an oncology (cancer) block, and a pathology block.