Health Minister Simeon Brown confirms plans for a new hospital in South Auckland to ease pressure on Middlemore.
A new hospital in South Auckland, likely at Drury, is planned for the 2030s, says Health Minister Simeon Brown.
The hospital aims to ease pressure on Middlemore with more beds and expanded emergency services.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop said Mayor Wayne Brown’s second harbour bridge proposal is unlikely to proceed.
A major new hospital in South Auckland, probably at Drury, is planned for the 2030s, says Health Minister Simeon Brown.
Speaking at the Herald’s Project Auckland event today, Brown said the new hospital is being explored, with the next steps being detailed plans drawn up by Health New Zealand and securing land.
“This hospital will work alongside Middlemore adding more beds, modern surgical theatres, expanded emergency services, easing pressure on the system and improving outcomes for Aucklanders,” he said.
In 2018, district health board chiefs, with backing from the Labour Government, announced plans for a 400-bed acute hospital in South Auckland over the following 20 years, and possibly a new hospital north of the city.
Brown said hospitals across Auckland are experiencing severe bed shortages, which are expected to increase as the population grows.
“South Auckland, in particular, is one of our fastest-growing communities with significant health challenges.
“The community experiences high rates of infectious conditions, long-term conditions, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease. The health needs of South Auckland are compounding this impact for the whole region.
“With both Middlemore and Auckland City Hospital under pressure to service the South Auckland population, this pressure will only continue to grow,” he said.
Brown said the proposal will be part of a long-term health infrastructure plan across the country being developed by Cabinet and due for release in the coming weeks. Each project will require a business case.
Middlemore Hospital has been under intense pressure for years and has the busiest emergency department (ED) in the Southern Hemisphere.
Health Minister Simeon Brown. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Last winter, the Herald reported long queues for hospital beds, unsafe staffing levels and some patients being kept in corridors.
A 2022 independent report into the death of a “healthy” 50-year-old woman at Middlemore Hospital found its emergency department was “unsafe, dysfunctional and overcrowded”.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has proposed a second harbour bridge between Pt Chevalier and the North Shore. The original bridge is shown at the top of the frame. Image / Mayor's office
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said at the Project Auckland event that Mayor Wayne Brown’s idea for a second harbour bridge between Pt Chevalier and Kauir Point on the North Shore is unlikely to get to the starting line.
Last September, Brown unveiled a plan to use a natural existing lava flow at Meola Reef to support a new Waitematā Harbour crossing, saying it would cost less than 8% of Labour’s “idiotic cross-harbour tunnel”.
Bishop said the mayor’s proposal was an interesting idea and the NZ Transport Agency would be looking at it, but it’s not something being considered in serious depth.
Bishop said advancing an additional harbour crossing is a priority for the Government and right now there is a barge in the harbour undertaking geotechnical and other investigation of the harbour floor for the first time.
The minister said a decision about a bridge or tunnel is expected in mid-2026 but will not be built for some time, and will be tolled.
