Design work progresses for three regional hospitals

Health Minister Simeon Brown announced that planning for the redevelopment of Hawke’s Bay, Palmerston North, and Tauranga hospitals has reached a significant milestone, with early concept images now available. The designs provide the first public glimpse of what the future hospitals could look like, offering patients, staff, and communities a preview of the proposed changes. The minister emphasized that these redevelopments aim to address capacity constraints and improve service delivery across critical areas.

The redevelopments prioritize acute services, including emergency departments, intensive care, maternity services, and operating theatres, which will be consolidated into a single future acute services building at each hospital. This approach is intended to shorten distances between services, reduce wait times for critical care, and enhance the patient and family experience. The concept design serves as a shared foundation for all three projects, allowing for site-specific adaptations while maintaining consistency in planning and design.

Hawke’s Bay, Palmerston North, and Tauranga hospitals are part of Tranche 2 of the Regional Hospital Redevelopment Programme, which is being delivered under Health New Zealand’s Health Infrastructure Plan. The plan ensures a phased and coordinated approach to redevelopment, with detailed business cases now being refined. Site master planning, design feasibility studies, and investigations have been completed, and teams are progressing toward the preliminary design phase.

Funding allocated in Budget 2026 supports ongoing design, site planning, and preparatory works while business cases are finalized. The government states that these efforts lay the groundwork for hospitals that will serve patients, staff, and communities for decades, aligning with its commitment to improving healthcare infrastructure.