Watch live: Minister Simeon Brown announces New Zealand’s ‘first-ever Health Infrastructure Plan’

Health Minister Simeon Brown is today announcing what the Government has described as “New Zealand’s first-ever Health Infrastructure Plan” to provide a long-term approach to renewing and expanding public health facilities.

Brown is holding a press conference in Auckland this morning from Manukau Superclinic in South Auckland. It will be livestreamed from the top of this article.

He said the Health Infrastructure Plan has identified more than $20 billion investment required to meet future health needs.

The condition of the country’s public health facilities - spanning 1,274 buildings across 86 campuses and with an average age of 47 years - have been “creating some significant challenges”, Brown said.

“This is a first for New Zealand – a single, long-term plan that lays out a clear pipeline for health infrastructure,” Mr Brown says.

“Our health system is under significant pressure from ageing infrastructure that hasn’t kept pace with the needs of a growing and ageing population.”

The minister outlined the priorities of the plan as updating:

• Buildings that require major remedial work to avoid service disruption.
• Facilities with poor seismic ratings or serious compliance risks.
• Outdated infrastructure that is unable to support modern models of care.

“The state of our health infrastructure is not a new challenge; it is a problem that has developed over multiple decades. Addressing it requires a long-term plan to both renew existing capacity, and invest in new facilities, to meet future demand and ensure New Zealanders continue to receive high-quality care,” Brown said.

“The Health Infrastructure Plan identifies the more than $20 billion investment required to meet future health needs and introduces a more efficient way of delivering large hospital projects, called ‘Building Hospitals Better’.

“Instead of building single, large-scale structures, the plan proposes a staged approach – delivering smaller, more manageable facilities in phases. This will mean patients benefit from modern healthcare environments sooner, while providing greater certainty around delivery timeframes and costs."

The plan outlines a phased programme of hospital and facility developments across the country to be delivered in three to four stages. This includes major new builds and expansions across the country, featuring new acute services buildings, inpatient units, expanded emergency departments and wards, and upgraded facilities.

It also includes the planning and initial build of the recently announced new hospital in South Auckland.

Each project in the pipeline will require a business case and will go through normal funding approval processes by Cabinet.

“While the infrastructure deficit will take time to address, this plan is a critical step forward. It outlines what needs to be done, and how we will do it – ensuring New Zealanders have access to modern, safe, and reliable health infrastructure across the country,” Brown said.

The Health Minister also announced that Health NZ has started a tender process for the next stage of construction for New Dunedin Hospital’s inpatient building, with works to recommence on the former Cadbury site from mid-year.

“An Advance Notice will be published on GETS – the Government Electronic Tender Service – to complete the substructure for the building, which is an important step while commercial negotiations for the main construction continue," Brown said.

“The substructure is the vital foundation of the main hospital structure that will follow, and includes the installation of the lower slab, concreting, and plinths for the base isolators.”