Speeches 

It's a pleasure for me and my colleagues to be here today to celebrate the official opening of this first stage of the redevelopment at Waikato Hospital.

Today's opening unlocks the way to further major development of the site.

We have a new, modern, main entry to the hospital, named Te Rau Aroha to symbolise the philosophy of caring for and supporting all who enter here.

We have the Transit Lounge, open since January, which provides a comfortable and safe place for those ready to be discharged, but waiting for their medication, or final administrative procedures, or transport.

And we have the 800 car parks - great news for all who are regular visitors to the hospital.

I myself have been an irregular visitor to the hospital - I was born here; I visited my mother here after younger sisters were born; and my grandmother passed away here. I have made a number of official visits, going back to my time as Minister of Health in 1989 and 1990.

Today's event of course is about much more than celebrating the improvements in public access to the hospital.

Today we are also expressing our confidence in the public health system, and making an ongoing commitment to substantial investment in health infrastructure, and services.

In this District Health Board, Waikato and Thames Hospitals are currently undergoing a $215 million transformation - which forms part of the $1.55 billion committed by our Labour-led Government over nine years to major capital projects in the public health system.

In the nine years prior to that, the amount invested in major projects was less than one third of that amount.

Since 1999, seven new hospitals have been built; and eight other hospital campuses have had major refurbishments or been significantly redeveloped.

As well, ten specialist facilities have been built; three more redevelopment projects are almost complete; and a further four major capital projects for hospital redevelopments have been approved and are underway.

These projects have occurred from Kaitaia in the Far North, with its new GP Centre, day surgery, and renovated maternity unit, to Invercargill in the deep south, where a new base hospital was opened in 2004.

We have invested in the regions and in the big cities, from the West Coast of the South Island, to Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty, from Dunstan in Central Otago, to Wairau Hospital in Blenheim, and from Christchurch Women's to Auckland's hospitals.

We have prioritised these investments because we believe in the public health system; and in the people who work in it; and because we believe New Zealanders are entitled to world class health facilities and services.

Here in the Waikato the DHB is responsible for planning, funding, and providing health and disability support services for more than 350,000 people. It has an annual turnover of $915 million and employs more than 5,000 people.

That is a large organisation by any measure. But at the heart of the public health system only one thing matters - and that is the objective of providing the best possible service to each individual patient.

Providing health services is always a tough assignment. The public's expectations are rightly high, and the issues are complex and invariably costly to deal with. There is no blank cheque, and everyone wants to see value for money. Within the resources we have, I believe our public health service achieves extraordinary things.

Cabinet approved this major redevelopment for the Waikato DHB four years ago. Almost ever since, it seems, this place has been a building site - and the work is expected to continue until 2012.

As well as the improvements we see today, there are the forensics upgrade at Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre, a new emergency department, a sterilising services unit and acute hub, a delivery suite refurbishment, and a newborn Intensive Care Unit extension and refurbishment.

These new entrance buildings improve access into the hospital; and will eliminate the need to walk outside in whatever weather, and up a hill.

The separation of non-acute and acute ambulance routes provides a more co-ordinated approach to ambulance transfers, and it has minimised the number of ambulances and patients at the busy emergency department.

I understand that Thames Hospital's campus redevelopment will be complete by the end of 2008. It includes a new clinical centre (housing emergency department, wards and outpatient clinics) and a new inpatient centre (housing all wards and a high dependency unit).

Today I congratulate the Waikato DHB on the progress it is making with the redevelopment; and I wish you well with the ongoing building and new services projects.

To our hardworking health workforce here in the Waikato, I offer my thanks to you for all you do and look forward to seeing the new facilities roll out over the next four years.

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