Dr Andrew Potts made no bones about it - the scale of Kaitaia Hospital's achievement in opening an oncology treatment unit on Friday could hardly be over-estimated.
The unit, Tatau Ki Te Waka Oranga, which will save some cancer patients multiple trips to Whangarei, was officially opened by one of those patients, Kaitaia woman Irene Larsen.
Dr Potts, Northland DHB general manager surgical services, said the unit represented a big achievement. Localising services was very difficult, he said, given the "gravitational pull" of centralisation.
It had required courage, ingenuity and stamina, qualities with which the hospital staff were well endowed.
"To put it in perspective," he said, "Auckland and North Shore hospitals have been talking for several years about doing what you are doing here today."