Merger considered for Rotorua private hospitals

A proposed merger between QE Health and Rotorua's Southern Cross could see Rotorua gaining two first-class health facilities.

If the merger gets the go-ahead, the city's Southern Cross Hospital in Otonga Rd would be expanded to cater for surgical facilities while QE Health's Lakefront buildings could be demolished and replaced with a modern spa facility.

The new surgical centre would be built on the current Southern Cross site.

Staff at both hospitals were told yesterday.

If formally signed off, construction would start in May with the new facility expected to open early in 2008.

QE Health chief executive Ben Smit said the move would allow the new joint-venture company to concentrate on surgical services while QE Health would focus on developing its Lakefront site into a world-class muscular- skeletal rehabilitation and medi-spa (medical spa) facility.

Rotorua Southern Cross hospital manager Catriona Ayers said an earlier proposal to move Southern Cross to Rotorua Hospital's Pukeroa Hill campus was rejected, although she would not say why.

"We have explored every potential business opportunity [and] at this stage this proposal seems to be the most appropriate."

She declined to comment further.

Mr Smit said Rotorua was too small to have two or three private providers for surgical services. The new site would cater for all surgical procedures the two organisations currently provide.

The proposal was prompted by several factors including a "dire need for an upgrade" at both sites, Mr Smit said. The preferred option was to build a new surgical facility on the Lakefront site, but that was deemed too expensive.

Between them, the two facilities have more than 46 beds. That would be almost halved at the new facility but Mr Smit said it would be able to cater for more patients through greater use of day-stay facilities. He said neither hospital used all its beds at the moment.

Plans were still being finalised but his preferred option would be to demolish the current QE Health building and rebuild.

At this stage the centre would not provide accommodation although there was the possibility someone else could build a hotel on the land, which is owned by Ngati Whakaue.

The medi-spa would be the first in New Zealand and one of only a few in the Southern Hemisphere.

Mr Smit said the proposal would see the number of staff increase significantly.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)