All Systems Go for Regional Hospital construction

12 December 2005

“All Systems Go” for Regional Hospital construction

It’s ‘full steam ahead’ for the major new Wellington Regional Hospital building - following the signing of a contract today between Capital & Coast DHB and Fletcher Construction.

The contract will see Fletcher Construction take on the role of lead construction contractor for the $140m contract.

“It enables us to roll up our sleeves and get underway building this important new facility early in the new year,” C&C DHB’s Chief Executive, Margot Mains, said today.

Margot Mains says she is delighted to have a very competent, experienced and credible company like Fletcher Construction as the main contractor for this important project. “We have every faith that they will work with us to deliver an excellent facility to meet the health needs of the district for the decades ahead,” she says

“The Regional Hospital was planned in close cooperation with those who will use the building including clinicians. It will create an environment which will be much better for both patients and staff, and which will allow our clinicians to deliver services using 21st century models of care.

Board chairman Bob Henare says the new facility will be a vast improvement. “This new building will support the delivery of healthcare - as opposed to some of our old buildings like the 210 Building and the Front Block, which quite frankly worked against clinicians. It will enable us to more clearly focus on people and patients, and over time to significantly improve the quality of care we can deliver.”

C&C DHB Project Director Liz Maddison says it’s a great feeling to have reached this agreement, after construction on the main building was delayed earlier this year.

“We managed to reduce delay by getting a lot of preparatory work done on the site for the new building while we went back out to tender. Piling and other preparatory works such as drainage are near completion, and that will allow Fletcher Construction to hit the ground running. Had we not done that, the project could easily have slipped into 2009,” Liz Maddison says.

Fletcher Construction’s Wellington Manager, Greg Pritchard, says they are committed to delivering the project in a timely and efficient manner.

“This is an important project for Wellington, and for the entire central region of New Zealand. We are delighted to be working with Capital & Coast DHB on this project, which will be of such enormous benefit to the public in the years and decades ahead,” Greg Pritchard says.

ENDS

© Scoop Media