Five years and $116 million: The wait for Wellington’s new children’s hospital is over

When the cold tap is turned on in a room at Wellington’s 110-year-old children’s hospital, there is a sound ‘as if the world is coming to an end’, says Karyn Bain.

“We often lived there on the other side of the wall.”

Bain’s 9-year-old son, Markus, spent 3 months in hospital last year with Guillan-Barré syndrome – a rare condition that affects the nerves. But while the pipe noises, ill-fitting curtains and wind whistling through the walls exacerbated the pain of being stuck in the hospital, they will now be a distant memory.

When Markus soon comes in for a two-week hospital stay, his room will have faucets that not only work without yelling, but there will also be a bathroom and a pull-out bed for his mother.

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Markus presented Health Minister Andrew Little a new mascot, Tiaki, on Friday as the children’s hospital opened to Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro, major donors, local kaumātua, iwi representatives, politicians, donors, staff and volunteers.

Little told the hundreds gathered that the facility would not have been realized without the generosity of philanthropists Mark Dunajtschik and Dorothy Spotswood, who gave $53 million for the final cost of $116 million.

“Words cannot express the gratitude we feel and the people of Wellington feel, and actually the people of New Zealand feel for your generosity for what you do here, so thank you so much,” Little told the couple on Friday.

Spotswood admitted to being nervous about the size of the couple’s donation.

“50 million dollars sounded like I was playing Monopoly again…”

The pair were “overwhelmed by the interest shown and the response from the public across New Zealand.”

Although the building does not have operating rooms, it brings the rest of the health services for children under one roof – with 50 inpatient beds, social and whānau rooms, and consultation and clinical rooms.

The hospital has the same number of hospital beds as the old children’s hospital, but the new hospital is much larger in area with approximately 7,500 m², spread over three floors.

The service will treat children from infants up to the age of 16, but children requiring emergency or intensive care, radiology, surgery and other specialist services will still be treated at Wellington’s main regional hospital.

How it started?

It started with a friendship forged in the 1980s, a conversation six years ago, then a secret kept for nine months.

Te Wao Nui – Wellington’s new Children’s Hospital – is officially opened and blessed today, bringing together the region’s pediatric health care under one roof in a purpose built, modernized facility.

The project was announced on July 10, 2017 with an initial donation of $50 million from Dunajtschik, a local real estate developer.

But the concept started more than a year earlier, said Bill Day, president of the Wellington Hospitals Foundation.

Day and Dunajtschik have been friends since 1981 when they both worked with Wellington helicopter rescue services, so Day felt comfortable approaching the philanthropist in September 2016 to discuss funding for a new hospital for Wellington’s Tamariki.

“It was a bit of a secret for almost nine months. At the time, he was thinking about it.”

The news is believed to have gone no further than four people, with former health executive Debbie Chin and the late businessman Grant Corleison being the only others aware of the potential donation.

Then, on November 14, 2016, the Kaikōura earthquakes hit some of the downtown Wellington high-rises and the respective building owners.

“I thought that was the dream out the window,” Day said, assuming Dunajtschik properties, including Environment House, the HSBC building and Asteron House, would be in serious repair.

Although some needed reinforcements later, they avoided serious damage from the earthquake.

Six weeks later, “he took his hands out of his pockets and said, let’s continue,” Day said.

Dunajtschik would build the hospital and donate $50 million to help the children in the region.

The hospital would eventually cost $116 million with central government funding $46 million, Te Whatu Ora Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley $7 million, the Wellington Hospitals Foundation raising $10 million for the facility and Dunajtschik to take stock. to make.

A protagonist – Grant Corleison, known as Dunajtschik’s right-hand man – was missing from the opening. Corleison died of cancer a year ago.

If he had lived to see the ceremony, “he would have been overjoyed,” Day said.

The official opening on Friday is followed by a public open day on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The road to a new hospital

July 10, 2017: Mark Dunajtschik announces that he will pay, build and donate a $50 million children’s hospital to Capital & Coast District Health Board. At that point, it is expected to take about two years to complete.

November 29, 2017: Plans reveal artist impressions of the hospital’s exterior – a four-storey glass building. The interior would be designed with children and whānau in mind, with green spaces,

Nov 2018: Construction begins with a stone-laying ceremony in Mauri and a $45 million boost from the central government. Dunajtschik expresses his frustration at dealing with bureaucrats.

June 2020: Construction would be slightly delayed due to Covid-19, with a revised opening in mid-2021.

February 2022: Further delays are caused by Covid-19 and the need for air handling unit upgrades, with existing units unsuitable for respiratory diseases. The DHB refuses to give an opening date until June.

March 31, 2022: The keys to the Mark Dunajtschik and Dorothy Spotswood building will be handed over to the Capital & Coast District Health Board.

October 17, 2022: Te Wao Nui’s outpatient clinics and surgical units are open.

Early 2023: The medical ward, for patients with Covid-19 and respiratory diseases such as RSV, will open.

* This article has been updated to include the hospital’s total cost and precise contribution amounts. (Updated Sept. 30, 7:14 a.m.)