Child Haematology Oncology Centre to be open for Christmas

March 18, 2014

Child Haematology Oncology Centre to be open for Christmas

Christchurch Hospital’s new temporary Child Haematology Oncology Centre is on track to open before Christmas.

The temporary facility will remain in place until a permanent Child Haematology Oncology Centre is built, as part of the Christchurch Hospital redevelopment of acute services. The temporary centre will be designed to accommodate other clinical services in the future.

David Meates, Canterbury DHB chief executive, says the centre is a key component of Canterbury DHB’s delivery of world class child cancer treatment and it’s great to see progress on the $5 million temporary facility finally getting underway.

“The existing Child Haematology Oncology Centre was set up 12 years ago but as demand has increased, partly as a consequence of the closure of the inpatient service in Wellington, it has become increasingly difficult to meet the needs of the children and their families in the current facility,” he says.

Mr Meates says the temporary centre has been a key project for a number of years but has been subject to significant disruption and delays as a result of the Canterbury earthquakes.

“It’s great to see this much needed and much awaited temporary facility on the road to completion and open before this Christmas.”

The new Child Haematology Oncology Centre will be located in the former Physiotherapy Department on the lower ground floor of the Clinical Services Block at Christchurch Hospital.

It will have 11 patient beds – up from the existing eight, a family room incorporating kitchen, lounge and dining facilities and a dedicated playroom, an outpatient area, two treatment rooms, an isolation room and an assessment room, Mr Meates says.

Corbel Construction have been contracted to build the new temporary facility. They will also be carrying out earthquake repairs and strengthening work as they go.

“This certainly is not an easy project. Just getting to the point of starting work has been a mammoth task – staff have had to work incredibly hard to find a suitable location in the first instance after the quake disrupted our original plans,” he says.

“We’re grateful to the Physiotherapy Department and its patients for making a sacrifice to accommodate this temporary centre.”

Mr Meates says the project could not have gone ahead without the ongoing community support and staff efforts.

“We’re also extremely grateful to Ronald McDonald House South Island, the Child Cancer Foundation and CanTeen who are making a contribution to the Family Room and adolescent room.”

ENDS

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