Health Minister Simeon Brown says the pared-down redevelopment of Nelson Hospital is still the biggest investment in the city in decades.
The government has revealed that its plans will cost $500 million over four years, including a new five-storey inpatient unit with 128 beds, adding 41 more beds to current capacity.
The redesign is less than half the cost of the project signed off under the previous Labour-led government which was for a new acute services building with 255 beds, eight theatres and a larger emergency department adding 92 beds to current capacity.
Brown told Morning Report a temporary inpatient ward would be up and running in the next 12 months, which would have a life span of 50 years and could be transported for use at other hospitals in the future.
"Getting those extra beds in much sooner helps deal with the existing challenges facing that hospital."
They were delivering a hospital that met Nelson's required needs as outlined in Health New Zealand's business case, he said.
Health New Zealand started started a process under the last government in August 2023, but "they weren't up front with the people of Nelson that they'd actually started a rescoping of the project", he said.
"It has put together a scope which allows for some of the current buildings to be earthquake strengthened and repurposed which is what we're doing, plus also a new in patient unit.
"It's the biggest investment in Nelson in decades and it's going to mean we can meet the needs of Nelson for years to come which is critically important because at the moment the lack of beds is leading to surgeries being cancelled, theatre lists being delayed, patients not getting the care that they need."
The government had been advised that the previous approach would have taken 10 to 12 years to build, but the government's plan meant that beds would be in place a lot sooner, he said.
A master plan also allows for potential future expansion of Nelson Hospital, he said.
Brown said at this stage there was no plan for any further operating theatres because "this is about making sure that we've got the bed capacity to be able to deliver utilising the existing capacity of the operating theatres", he said.
The Budget had put aside funding for three or four temporary inpatient wards such as the one to be built in Nelson, he said.
They would be used where there was a need to increase beds within a short period of time, he said.
Govt's plan only short term solution - Nelson Hospital anaesthetist
Nelson Hospital anaesthetist Dr Katie Ben, who is also national president of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, said as well as beds more operating theatres were needed.
"New beds is great, I am really really happy that they're designing a building that will increase our bed capacity but we need more operating theatres, we need more staff - it's pointless having the beds there if you don't have the nurses, the doctors, the techs and all the allied staff that go with it to be able to look after the patients in those beds."
Dr Ben said she liked the idea of a modular temporary unit and would be interested to see where it would go on the site and how they would get the essential services such as oxygen and suction plumbed into it but reiterated they would need to find the nurses to staff it.
Nelson Hospital had been too small for some time, she said.
"But it is not just about beds, it is about more infrastructure, it is about how yesterday during that horrendous rain storm we had water dripping in through the ceilings, we had water coming in through the walls, we had towels down on the floor in places to stop people slipping on the water and buckets to catch the rain drops - that is not appropriate, will that be included in the refurbishment?"
Staff were cautiously optimistic about the planned change and looking forward to being able to provide proper care, she said.
But she believed this was only a short term solution and the government was "kicking the can down the road".
"We have reservations about the lack of beds that is required - we currently have about 160, an extra 41 will bring us to just over 200 beds for the region - similar sized hospitals serving similar sized parts of the country have more like 250 beds."
The Labour Party is critical of the government's plans to redevelop Nelson Hospital, saying it will deliver half the number of new beds as the previous government had planned.
The $500m upgrade will take four years, cost less than half of what was previously planned.
Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins told Morning Report the government was setting the "new" Nelson Hospital up for failure.
"It's going to be overcrowded from the day it first opens, they are not future proofing the Nelson Hospital at all.
"I think residents of Nelson have a right to feel pretty let down by this government who made them some big promises before the election and are now offering half of what they were promised."
Hipkins agreed Labour's plan was going to take longer, but said that was because it was a bigger hospital.
He said the government had also not delivered on "anything yet".
"This idea that the government delivers simply by announcing a plan is ridiculous."
He said Labour's plan was affordable but noted building costs had gone up.
Labour's health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said Nelson was being short-changed, as Labour had promised an increase of 92 beds over the existing capacity.
"We were a hundred percent committed to the hospital with 255 beds. The government is trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear here by saying they're committing half the amount of money to half the hospital," she said.
She had concerns the new plan would not meet Nelson's needs, meaning the hospital would need to be upgraded again just a few years after the rebuild.
Verrall said the modular units were a good, innovative idea, but that the devil would be in the detail.
"Hospitals are complex projects, where lots of different types of people have to do different jobs and work there. We want to see that it's implemented appropriately for Nelson."
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