Why did Wairarapa District Health Board invest $30m in the Building Programme?

1. Health services are changing all the time.

Recent medical technology advances means we now have many less invasive techniques for a variety of health conditions.
A gall bladder operation used to mean five days in hospital. Now it can usually be performed during day surgery with no overnight stay in hospital and a faster recovery for most patients.
Patient care programmes can now be managed electronically with immediate access to on screen diagnostic information.
Testing procedures are faster, leading to much shorter stays in hospital.

Analysis of Masterton Hospital buildings showed that WDHB needed to spend almost $20 million over the next 20 years on upgrades to existing buildings - just to meet minimum legal and operational requirements.
If WDHB had spent this money it would still be confronting the fundamental problem of old buildings unable to deliver better health services in a rapidly changing environment.

There were large and small duplications within Masterton Hospital and services, as the sprawling layout meant some equipment, personnel and stores could not be easily shared.
Duplication of storage and support areas were solved when the Building Programme was completed in early 2006.
Each year we spent a significant amount of money heating and lighting the extensive corridor network between the Masterton Hospital buildings. These same corridors were a real barrier for older or frail patients and visitors, as they attempted to move between services.

The population WDHB serves is changing. It is also ageing. For example, the percentage of people over 65 will double over the next 15 years, 30 years ahead of much of the rest of the country. This means there is an increasing need to deal with the more complex health problems experienced by older people, and develop more community based services.