The plans by government to downgrade the Dunedin Hospital redevelopment is yet another setback for the health service.
The long promised hospital is another casualty of government cuts and flawed policies. Projects like the new Dunedin Hospital are under threat in part because of government tax cuts, including the gifting of billions in tax concessions to landlords and inexplicably hundreds of millions to the tobacco industry. There has also been a waste of money on a preoccupation with building a few new roads.
Moreover, claims by government that the project is now likely to cost over 3 billion dollars are a smokescreen.
Obviously building a new tertiary level hospital is costly and costs always rise. Such projects usually end up costing more than initial estimates, but that is no reason to delay or downgrade plans. Construction costs also likely to be higher in a small city like Dunedin than in a large centre.
Building a large tertiary hospital invariably costs money. Moreover, building large hospitals frequently goes over initial budgets and, regardless of the jurisdiction, seems to court controversy. Overseas builds of hospitals typically hit the headlines for similar reasons.
Nurses Society director David Wills says the government should reconsider the matter.
Government needs to be wary of "going for cheap as" because that approach has been a dismal failure in the past. "Going cheap" has often resulted in grossly inadequate facilities which are not fit for purpose, consequently requiring costly rebuilds and extensions.
Much of our infrastructure development and replacement is already long overdue.
Aotearoa New Zealand has an excellent health service, but it is underfunded and under resourced. Bed numbers on a per capita basis are low by any measure when measured against comparable countries.
The plans by government to downgrade the Dunedin Hospital redevelopment is yet another setback for the health service.
The long promised hospital is another casualty of government cuts and flawed policies. Projects like the new Dunedin Hospital are under threat in part because of government tax cuts, including the gifting of billions in tax concessions to landlords and inexplicably hundreds of millions to the tobacco industry. There has also been a waste of money on a preoccupation with building a few new roads.
Moreover, claims by government that the project is now likely to cost over 3 billion dollars are a smokescreen.
Obviously building a new tertiary level hospital is costly and costs always rise. Such projects usually end up costing more than initial estimates, but that is no reason to delay or downgrade plans. Construction costs also likely to be higher in a small city like Dunedin than in a large centre.
Building a large tertiary hospital invariably costs money. Moreover, building large hospitals frequently goes over initial budgets and, regardless of the jurisdiction, seems to court controversy. Overseas builds of hospitals typically hit the headlines for similar reasons.
Nurses Society director David Wills says the government should reconsider the matter.
Government needs to be wary of "going for cheap as" because that approach has been a dismal failure in the past. "Going cheap" has often resulted in grossly inadequate facilities which are not fit for purpose, consequently requiring costly rebuilds and extensions.
Much of our infrastructure development and replacement is already long overdue.
Aotearoa New Zealand has an excellent health service, but it is underfunded and under resourced. Bed numbers on a per capita basis are low by any measure when measured against comparable countries.