Contractor In Place To Build Replacement Mental Health Unit At Waikato Hospital

Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand has appointed Naylor Love as the contractor to build the replacement Adult Acute Mental Health Inpatient Facility at Waiora Waikato Hospital.

The current Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre is no longer considered suitable. The new inpatient facility will be a more appropriate space for contemporary approaches to mental healthcare.

The replacement facility has been designed to provide a welcoming and therapeutic environment for people experiencing mental illness, in accordance with an adult acute healthcare plan that incorporates key cultural elements.

It will have eight internal courtyards, maximising the use of natural light, and space for 64 beds.

It will offer views of neighbouring trees and will be built to the Greenstar Five Star sustainability building standard, as well as the best-practice Australasian Health Facility Design Guidelines.

Construction is expected to begin in mid-2024, after the completion of enabling works, which began in mid-2023 under a preliminary agreement.

The project is expected to reach practical completion by mid-2026. The mental health facility will be built where the Renal Centre is currently sited, in two stages. Work on the second stage will start once the Renal Centre has opened at a new location on the Waiora Waikato Hospital campus, allowing the old Renal Centre to be fully demolished.

The new Renal Centre building is on schedule to enter service in early 2025.

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