$1.5m cash injection to Ashburton Hospital

March 28, 2017

$1.5m cash injection to Ashburton Hospital

Ashburton Hospital has received a $1.5 million cash injection thanks to community generosity.

Advance Ashburton trustee Gary Fail today presented David Meates, Canterbury DHB Chief Executive with a cheque for $1.5m to go towards the upgrades of Ashburton Hospital.

The donation is in conjunction with the Mackenzie Charitable Trust, the Lion Foundation, the Ashburton Licensing Trust and the Trevor Wilson Charitable Trust.

This will go towards the $8.7m of improvements underway at the hospital which includes building a new 1040sqm Acute Assessment Unit and Day Procedure Theatre.

Mr Meates says it is great to receive such a generous contribution from the community.

“It’s remarkable how supportive and engaged the community has been right from when we first announced the upgrade to the facilities here in Ashburton after the Canterbury quakes.

“We are very grateful to have had the people of Ashburton backing us on this journey. Their commitment has meant the best health services, for what has become a very strong and vibrant rural community, are available both now and long into the future.

“I’m absolutely delighted on behalf of Canterbury DHB to accept this donation today and would like to say a huge thank you to all those who have contributed to this very generous gift.”

Bernice Marra, Ashburton Health Services manager, says it’s wonderful to receive the donation towards the new facilities, which opened at the end of last year.

“Already the new facilities are proving to be a huge asset for our community. Staff are just loving working in the fit-for-purpose building, and patients and visitors, are also saying how much of an improvement they are.

“It allows us to keep pace with health care innovations and means our staff can provide the right care to the right person at the right time, both now and well into the future.”

The new Acute Assessment Unit replaces an older, smaller unit and is designed to allow staff to assess, stabilise and provide short-term care for people with acute conditions.

Greg Robertson, Canterbury DHB Head of Surgery, says the AAU provides “state of the art” facilities allowing specialists from Christchurch to perform day procedures for people in Ashburton in its new theatre and recovery suite.

“The new facilities together with the $450,000 pledged by the generous community funders to establish a rural health academic centre allowing Ashburton Hospital to build its status as New Zealand’s first rural centre of medical excellence.

“It also allows us to offer a wider range of procedures than at present, and has enabled more efficient transfer of patients to and from Christchurch Hospital.”

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