Concept plans for family health centre
Participants at a working meeting involving health practitioners, health providers, community representatives and health architects. Photo: Neil Wilson
Key decisions on the Golden Bay integrated family health centre should be made by the end of May.
The Nelson Marlborough District Health Board will meet in the second half of May to consider the business case that sets out in detail how the health services in Golden Bay will operate. The board will be asked to transfer its budget for the costs of operating the integrated health centre in the Bay to Nelson Bays Primary Health, which already operates the medical centre.
The board will also consider the detailed forecast financial figures related to the costs of building the extensions to the hospital to provide medical centre and rest home facilities. This includes a proposal to acquire some additional land from a neighbour.
Later in May the Ministry and Minister of Health will also consider the proposals. Their approval is needed for the existing hospital facilities to be transferred to Golden Bay Community Health Te Hauora O Mohua Trust, which will own the expanded building.
Other key moves over the next few weeks will be employing the service manager – to oversee the transition of the three services into one integrated group and thereafter to manage service provision - and engaging engineering services for the pre-construction phase.
This week The GB Weekly contains coloured concept plans of the integrated health centre and an artist’s perspective of the building.
The Interim Management Group will be holding an open day in Collingwood and Takaka on Monday 16 May for the community to look at the plans in more detail and a public meeting will be held in early June.
Regarding financing, the IMG has received one firm offer for bank finance and is assessing others.
The trust has received its first funding agency donation and has applications to other funding bodies underway. The trust will be firming up community offers of assistance over the next few months.
Submitted by IMG
