The Te Nikau Grey Hospital and Health Centre is a major investment in healthcare infrastructure, the first in many years for the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island. It addresses a history of clinical and financial sustainability issues in the region.

The new hospital delivered 8,500 sqm of clinical space, a 50% reduction in area compared to the existing hospital yet delivering the same volume of services.

Johnstaff was appointed as Project Manager for the design and delivery phases of the project from concept design through to construction completion, including the demolition phase of the existing hospital following migration to the new facility.

Building a new facility in this remote location presented many challenges including the procurement of contractors, achieving competitive pricing and attraction of sufficient subtrade resources to the west coast during the rebuild, which followed the 2011 earthquakes.

This resulted in significant budget pressure and required careful financial management. We helped resolve the project’s appropriate earthquake importance level by reviewing the hospital’s role in the District Emergency Response plan and liaising with the Grey District Council, MBIE and other territorial authorities.

The project was further impacted by several uncontrollable issues, including the 2016 Kaikoura Earthquake, Cyclone Fehi and a contractor with a compromised financial position in the construction phase. We were able to overcome these issues without affecting the project’s outcome due to our close working relationship with the Ministry of Health, West Coast District Health Board, consultant team and the contractor.