Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Health authorities recommended doing “the absolute minimum” to fix up Auckland City Hospital because they could not afford to do more, documents show.
This was despite the decision leaving overhanging risks including the failure of critical and high-risk assets “impacting upon clinical service resulting in patient harm”.
A business case, from November, for the third part of a $700 million-plus do-up project reveals this.
RNZ has asked the Health Minister if the “do minimum” option was what was now going ahead.
The overdue upgrades of everything from hot water pipes to electrical systems to asbestos were launched in 2017 at City hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre.
The part-three business case listed the options as ‘do nothing’, ‘do minimum’ and ‘do everything’.
“It is recommended that option 3 ‘do minimum’ proceeds,” it said.
“This is not the preferred option.
“However, it is recommended to manage total capital demand at this time with other Health NZ (HNZ) priorities also requiring funding.”
It went on to lay out the “significantly reduced scoped” of works, as “the absolute minimum required … to manage key risks” and deliver benefits, in the plan released by HNZ online.
A Cabinet paper from Health Minister Simeon Brown at the start of the year backed ‘do minimum’ while stating:
“There remains significant residual risk as this option does not achieve the full planned benefits of alternative options.”
Taking this option was approved in April.
Budget 2025 put an unspecified amount into it. “The figures have been withheld due to commercial sensitivities,” it said.
Brown said on Friday part three would focus on the most urgent priorities identified for investment to ensure critical infrastructure keeps on delivering for patients.
In addition, $14m was announced earlier this year to replace the hospital’s main water supply and ring mains, he said.
The ‘do minimum’ option would cover work to improve the electrical system and maintenance technology, and deal with asbestos a bit.
However, the HNZ report said it left “significant residual risk”, such as:
Not achieving fully resilient low and high voltage as required for New Zealand’s “hospital of last resort”;
Deferring some work on critical and high-risk assets that might then fail;
Leaving earthquake-risk structures and tunnels unfixed;
Not leaving fossil fuels behind even as supply prices keep going up.
Cooling vital to keep MRI machines going, and pressurisation vital to stop infections spreading, could fail if assets failed, the report showed.
The project was a top-four one among HNZ’s building priorities.
If it was carefully managed, work could be done later as money came available, said the report.
Brown sought Cabinet approval to have the power to sign-off on the five implementation cases need for the part three work.
All the work was due to have begun a few weeks ago, and last for one-to-two years.
The first and second parts of the project worth $660m were due to wrap up this year.
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