Project LEO, New Zealand

Project LEO, being undertaken at Tauranga Hospital in the Bay of Plenty district of New Zealand involves the redevelopment of the facilities of the hospital. An acronym of Leading Edge Organisation, LEO is aimed at providing best healthcare to the growing population of Bay of Plenty district, one of the fastest growing regions in New Zealand. The medical facility, which is slated to become a reality by 2009, will meet the needs of Tauranga and Bay of Plenty communities. The current hospital, which was built more than 40 years ago, has not seen any significant additions in the recent past to meet the growing demand. Project LEO involves an expenditure of US $110 million to be financed by Bay of Plenty DHB.

Construction activity in progress
on the Tauranga Hospital site.

A rendering of the new hospital building.
Artist's rendering of the new hospital building.

The new hospital will feature:

New operating theatre suite for acute, elective and day stay surgery
New Outpatients Department, relocated and expanded Assessment Treatment and Rehabilitation Unit and Allied Health Unit
Relocation and consolidation of maternity, antenatal and the special care baby unit into the main hospital building
Expanded emergency department, with increased treatment places
A new Acute Assessment or Planning unit
Expanded Imaging Department
Refurbishment of existing East and West wards
Relocated Intensive Care Unit
Refurbished Medical Day Stay Unit
Relocated Coronary Care Unit and a new step-down ward
Central and Theatre Sterile Supplies Unit consolidated into a single facility co-located with the theatre suite
Major upgrading of all building services

Present Status At Tauranga Hospital

Currently, Tauranga Hospital is functioning to maximum capacity with little scope to increase admissions to medical and surgical sections. The outpatient clinics cover three buildings creating commotion and posing patients to risks involved due to time spent in the movement. The authorities also felt a serious coordination and efficiency problems due to location defects. Moreover, the buildings are getting older with poor conditions and lack of patient privacy. The maternity ward is separate from the main hospital wing forcing women to take an ambulance from one building to the other during emergency caesareans. The rehabilitation facilities are very old with minimum beds for the elderly.

Implementation Of The Project

The project is being implemented in three phases, of which the first phase covers the construction of a new five-level North Wing block and a two-level podium. The first stage began in the second quarter of 2005 and will span the whole 2006. The new wing will be home to medical and surgical wards, a modern theatre suite and outpatient wing. Also, maternity wards and wing for the older people will be constructed.

In the second phase, the existing Ward Block at the West Wing will be completely renovated with modern facilities. The third phase involves revamping and expansion of the Ward Block in the East Wing. A new CCU and ICU will be established besides upgrade of Imaging Department and expansion of the Emergency Wing.

Specifications

The new hospital will house a surgery theatre suite for acute, elective and day stay surgeries. The Outpatient Wing will be strengthened with Assessment Treatment Unit, Rehabilitation Unit and Allied Health Unit. The maternity, antenatal and special baby care unit will be relocated to the main hospital building and consolidated.

Some other features of the project include an Acute Assessment Unit, expanded Imaging Department, relocation of the ICU and CCU and strengthening of Medical Day Stay Unit. A new step-down ward will be constructed to support the Coronary Care Unit. The Central and Theatre Sterile Supplies Unit will be integrated into a single facility co-located with the theatre suite.

A spacious parking area designated Clarke St Carpark will accommodate 300 vehicles with a hangar to house the TrustPower TECT rescue helicopter, and a helipad. The fully lit parking area is built in adherence to Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and will have a 24-hour CC TV monitoring.

The Ambulatory Care Centre will be refurbished and relocated into the North Wing Ward Block. The existing clinics and treatment wards will be replaced by modern and patient-friendly facilities. The number of consultation rooms in the Outpatient Department will rise to 33 from 14. The hospital will house a special paediatric area and children’s play zone. The new physiotherapy facilities include a hydrotherapy pool, hand therapy pool and three gymnasiums. A main door will be provided for the Ambulatory Care Department and the hospital will have two separate reception rooms for outpatients and Allied Health Unit.

Contractors & Partners

Bay of Plenty DHB is the sponsor of Project Leo. The construction contract of the project was given to Fletcher Construction and project management contract is being executed by Carson Group. Maunsell is the official architect and building survey engineering consultant for the project while Aurora Projects is supervising the health plan. Maltby & Partners is the quantity surveyor and OpusInternational is the town planning consultant.

The civil and structural engineering works are being undertaken by BullerGeorge Engineers and Holmes Consulting Group.

NEW UNITS TO BE ADDED

Admission Planning Unit
The new Admission Planning Unit (APU), managed by inpatient team, will serve the patients referred to the hospital by general physicians. The patients, instead of being admitted and checked by doctors, will spend a day and half in the unit where a specialist will assess them for admission. The patients in the unit can access medical, surgical, gynaecology and orthopaedic specialists. The benefits from the new wing include shorter waiting times for inpatient care and segregation of patients with respect to emergency and inpatient wings. Initially 28 beds will be commissioned and the number will be increased to 32 later.

Jacaranda House

Jacaranda House, the first renovated building under the project was opened in May 2005. The building, located to the northeast of the campus originally had nurses’ quarters and is now converted into a community centre housing clinics and departments on the ground, first and second floors. The ground floor of the main building will have diabetes services, Paediatric Diabetes wing, Dietitians office, Podiatry Wing, departments of Haematology, Medical Oncology and Radiation Oncology. The office of the Registrar for Adult Clinics, STD Clinics and District Nursing Clinics for stoma, ulcer and continence will also be housed on the ground floor. The medical clinics on the floor include Gastroenterology, Rheumatology, service wing for the elderly, Pain clinic and clinic for Mental Health for the Elderly.

The first floor will have offices of District nursing, Community occupational therapy unit and Community and occupational physiotherapy clinic. On the second floor, offices for Planning and Funding Group, Bay of Plenty District Health Board and National Immunisation Register will be located. The third floor will have a medihotel and the trainee internal accommodation facility with 15 beds will be placed on the fourth floor.

Benefits

Project LEO is the largest public health project in the Bay of Plenty since the current hospital was built in the 1960s and it has been more than a generation since any government has made such a significant commitment to the health needs of the Tauranga and Bay of Plenty communities.