The Front of Whare project at Wellington Regional Hospital aims to:

  • relocate and expand Te Pae Tiaki Emergency Department (ED)
  • expand the acute services in the Medical Assessment and Planning Unit (MAPU), Surgical Assessment and Planning Unit (SAPU) and Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Why we need to expand and refurbish our acute services

Wellington Regional Hospital's emergency and acute health services, which also support the Central region, are over capacity, and we are caring for people with increasingly complex needs. 

The existing ED was built in 1999 and extended in 2004, and the demand for our emergency service and hospital continues to grow. People are experiencing long wait times, or are provided care in less than ideal settings, such as in corridors, as the size and layout of Te Pae Tiaki Emergency Department is no longer fit-for-purpose. While the dedicated ED team strives to deliver safe care, a new modern space is needed to continue providing high-quality emergency services. 

Compounding this is the fact that, as part of our ongoing programme to assess our hospital facilities and infrastructure, it was identified that ED has a 34% NBS (IL4) rating. This means the building is an earthquake risk, which may prevent it from operating fully as normal following a 1-in-500-year seismic event.

Where we are in the process

Over the past 12-15 months, staff, equity groups, subject matter experts, consumers, clinical and non-clinical teams have contributed a great deal of time and expertise to develop an indicative business case, which includes initial design plans and models of care. 

The indicative business case was recently presented to the Ministers for Health, with support from Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora's executive leadership team, board, and Te Aka Whai Ora.

On 9 June 2023, the Minister for Health, Dr Ayesha Verrall, announced government funding of $10 million to proceed with enabling works and to develop a detailed business case for the Front of Whare.

We will now begin a process to develop this detailed business case and design, which we expect will take at least 6 months. A key part of this next phase of the project will be engaging with clinical and operational teams, consumer and equity groups on the detailed design. Over the coming months, we will share more details on the process and timing, including how groups can be involved, and when we will be able to share high-level designs. 

Once the detailed business case and design are complete, it will then be presented to the Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora board executive leadership team, board, and Te Aka Whai Ora for approval. If the plan is endorsed by all parties, it will be submitted to the Treasury to be considered by Cabinet in future budget proposals.  

If approved, the work would be delivered over several stages, across an estimated 4-6 years.