New Zealand needs more hospital capacity, and it needs it quickly. Rather than waiting years for conventional construction, these units are built off site as modules while site preparation happens in parallel, then craned into position and connected.

That approach brings capacity into service far faster than a traditional build, while minimising disruption to busy hospital environments.

Hawke's Bay Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital The Hawke's Bay unit will support short-stay surgical patients and provide dedicated space for surgical assessment and planning, helping improve patient flow and free up beds across the hospital. It comprises 14 modules manufactured off site and transported from South Auckland before being craned into position. Construction is complete and the building has been handed over to Health New Zealand for furniture, fittings and equipment installation.

Nelson Hospital The Nelson unit is a 28-bed facility that will initially enable services to be relocated while seismic strengthening is undertaken on existing hospital buildings. It will then provide additional inpatient capacity for the Nelson Marlborough region until the hospital's new inpatient tower is built.

The seven modules were manufactured off site by Fitzgerald Construction and transported to Nelson Hospital overnight before being craned into position in the early hours of the morning. Each module weighs approximately 44 tonnes and measures 18 metres by 8.2 metres. Assembled, the building has a floor area of approximately 1,000m². All seven modules are now in place.

Remaining programme sites

Planning and delivery activities continue for Interim Inpatient Units at Middlemore Hospital, Waikato Hospital and Wellington Regional Hospital.

CID's role

CID coordinates programme delivery across five hospital campuses, working alongside Health New Zealand and delivery partners. That includes procurement and contractor management, and a central Project Support Office giving national visibility of progress, cost and risk across every site at once.

Each installation is planned around clinical services that cannot stop, and lessons from each one inform the next.

Key facts

• Five units across five hospitals
• 140 additional beds
• Modular construction, manufactured off site