Mental Health Infrastructure Programme
The Mental Health Infrastructure Programme is a part of the Infrastructure and Investment Group within Te Whatu Ora.
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About
The Programme links together 16 mental health and addiction infrastructure projects, initiated prior to the establishment of Te Whatu Ora. A total of $960.3 million of public and private funding has been allocated across the 16 projects.
Three of the projects are complete – the Manawai individualised service units at the Rātonga-Rua-O-Porirua Mental Health Campus, Tiaho Mai at Middlemore Hospital, and two new buildings at Hillmorton Hospital. These house the specialist mental health services formerly located at the Princess Margaret Hospital (the new facilities feature in the video at the top of this page).
The Programme bases its designs on the best-practice Australasian Health Facility Guidelines. The overarching design principles specific to Aotearoa New Zealand are contained in the Design Guidance Note, which supplements the Australasian Health Facility Guidelines, and which includes kaupapa Māori design features such as ātea, wharenui and wharekai ― to enable manākitanga, pōwhiri and whakatau for arriving patients. These elements also allow service users to maintain a connection with their whānau.
The design of individual facilities also reflects input from service users and communities. Combined, this input supports the delivery of contemporary models of mental health care, which emphasise privacy, dignity and wellbeing, and the safety of patients and staff.
More information about health infrastructure can be accessed from the Infrastructure and Investment Group page or from the menu on the left.
Please note the following about this page:
Timelines and budgets reflect ministerial reporting to 31 October 2023.
Figures for bed numbers exclude those located in seclusion rooms, sensory modulation rooms, and de-escalation areas.
Once the construction work and fit-out of a facility is complete (Practical Completion), there are many operational decisions and activities needed before the facility is ready to welcome service users.
Estimates of Practical Completion dates become more accurate as projects reach key milestones; for instance, after a main contractor is appointed. Go-Live dates are confirmed once Practical Completion has been achieved.
Project snapshots:
Mental Health and Addictions Inpatient Facility Replacement, Rotorua Hospital
The existing acute mental health and addictions facility is over 40 years old.
The new facility will have 16 beds, with the space to increase that to 20 in the future (the current unit has 14). The configuration of the bedrooms (in pods of four bedrooms each) will have the advantage of allowing people with similar needs to be grouped together; for example, older people, people with vulnerabilities, or people who require a safe, low-stimulus environment with more intensive nursing.
The new unit has also been designed to meet the Core Green sustainability benchmark.
Timelines:
Start date – enabling works began November 2022.
Estimated date of Practical Completion – Q3 2025.
Budget: $50 m
Links:
Bay of Plenty construction company to build replacement mental health facility at Rotorua Hospital
E Tū Wairua Hinengaro ― Forensic Mental Health Facilities Replacement, Mason Clinic Auckland
E Tū Wairua Hinengaro (Quality of Mind) will enable the closure of the Totara, Kauri and Rata units, which are all leaky buildings. Once the new facility is ready, all service users from these buildings, as well as from the Kahikatea building, will be relocated to the new facility.
The new facility will provide around 10,000 square metres of floor area and enable high, medium, and minimum-security care.
The project has been registered with the New Zealand Green Building Council and is targeting a 5 star Green Star rating.
Timelines:
Start date – enabling works began January 2023.
Estimated date of Practical Completion – Q3 2025.
Budget: $162.8 m
Links:
Te Whare Awhiora ― Mental Health Inpatient Facility Replacement, Gisborne Hospital
Once complete, the new 10 bed Te Whare Awhiora will replace the current Hauora Tairāwhiti mental health and addictions facility, which only has space for 8 beds.
Around 9000 tonnes of earth was removed from the site during the earthworks phase. This was replaced with better quality material before construction began in June 2023.
The very wet summer of 2022/2023 and Cyclone Gabrielle both impacted the earthworks phase, which is the period when a project is most vulnerable to poor weather conditions.
The building has been designed so it can achieve both the Zero Energy and Core Green international sustainability certifications.
Timelines:
Start date - enabling works began September 2022. Construction now underway.
Estimated date of Practical Completion - Q4 2024.
Budget: $29.2 m
Links:
New mental health facility a step closer for Gisborne | Beehive.govt.nz
Acute Mental Health Inpatient Facility Replacement, Palmerston North Hospital
The new acute mental health facility is being constructed on the Heretaunga Street side of the campus. It will be home to the services currently being provided from Ward 21 and will have capacity to accommodate up to 28 beds.
For further information about this project, visit the page linked below.
Timelines:
Start date - enabling works began in August 2022. Construction now underway.
Estimated date of Practical Completion - Q2 2025.
Budget: $66.6 m
Links:
Acute Mental Health Inpatient and Renal Facilities Replacement, Waiora Waikato Hospital
The new Adult Acute Mental Health Inpatient Facility will have space for 64 beds and will be built on the current site of the Waikato Regional Renal Centre.
The new facility will be built in two phases, allowing the new renal centre to be completed first and the services to move across, making way for the mental health building.
The new Renal Centre building is on schedule to enter service in early 2025.
Timelines:
Start date - enabling works began in May 2023.
Estimated date of Practical Completion - Q2 2026 (Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit), Q4 2024 (Waikato Regional Renal Centre).
Budget: $175.6m (including the cost of the new Waikato Regional Renal Centre)
Links:
Huri Whenua marks the start of Waikato’s new mental health facility – WaikatoDHB Newsroom
Te Whare Maiangiangi ― Mental Health Acute Inpatient Unit upgrade, Tauranga Hospital
The upgrade of the unit, which was purpose built in 2001, will increase the number of beds from 26 to 29, and address several safety issues.
To minimise disruption to patients and staff, the upgrade will be carried out in two stages. Stage one of the project is in the Design phase.
Te Whare Maiangiangi translates as ‘seek new horizons.’
Timelines:
Estimated construction start date Q3 2024.
Estimated date of Practical Completion - Q4 2026.
Budget: $23.1m
Links:
Decision to upgrade Tauranga acute mental health inpatient unit – Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand
Mental Health Inpatient Unit Replacement, Te Nīkau, Grey Hospital & Health Centre
The design phase for the 6 bed facility that will replace Maanakitanga ― the mental health inpatient unit at Te Nīkau ― is nearing completion.
Timelines:
Estimated construction start date - Q3 2024.
Estimated date of Practical Completion - Q3 2026.
Budget: $20m
Links:
Hillmorton Campus redevelopment ― Tranche 1, Hillmorton Hospital Christchurch
Tranche 1 of the redevelopment includes a new 80-bed adult acute inpatient mental health unit. The new unit is in the Design phase with construction work expected to begin in Q3 2024.
Other projects identified in the wider Hillmorton masterplan are all at different stages of the planning and approvals process.
Timelines:
Scheduled construction start date: Q3 2024 (main build)
Estimated date of Practical Completion: 2027-2028 (a more accurate estimate will be available once a main contractor has been appointed).
Budget: $129.3 million
Links:
Govt funds new 80-bed mental health unit for Canterbury | Beehive.govt.nz
Completed projects:
Buildings 12 and 14 ― relocation of specialist mental health services to Hillmorton Hospital
Buildings 12 and 14 now house a range of specialist mental health services that were formerly provided from the Princess Margaret Hospital.
Completed: 2023
Budget: $81.8 million
Links:
Two brand new mental health facilities opened in Christchurch | Beehive.govt.nz
Manawai ― individualised service units, Rātonga-Rua-O-Porirua Mental Health Campus
Manawai is a six-unit secure facility located at the Rātonga-Rua-O-Porirua Campus.
Completed: 2022
Budget: $13.3 million
Links:
Tiaho Mai – Mental Health Inpatient Unit, Middlemore Hospital
Tiaho Mai was built to accommodate up to 76 inpatient beds across both high and low-dependency spaces.
Completed: 2020
Budget: $67.5 million
Links: Tiaho Mai Virtual Tour - 2020 Update on Vimeo
Tiaho Mai (Adult Mental Health Services) | Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau
Publications
Mental Health Infrastructure Programme Review - Technical Review
28 June 2023
The Mental Health Infrastructure Programme Review was undertaken by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s (DPMC’s) Implementation Unit, with assistance from The Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga. The Commission appointed expert reviewers to provide objective advice and prepared a detailed Technical Review for Te Whatu Ora.
The Review stemmed from the Year Three Stocktake of the Budget 2019 Health and Addiction Package carried out by the DPMC, which assessed progress on the Budget 2019 initiatives. The Stocktake recommended that a ‘deep dive’ of the Mental Health Infrastructure Programme’s (MHIP’s) 16 projects be done to provide advice on the projects’ delivery status, the robustness of the estimated completion dates, and the risks and issues of each project.
The deep dive and Technical Review reflect a single point in time, shortly after the transition from the 20 District Health Boards to Te Whatu Ora, when the responsibility for delivering the 16 mental health projects also shifted to Te Whatu Ora. The challenges identified should be seen in the context of market conditions at the time, and the health reforms that were underway, which were designed in part to address concerns around how health capital projects had been planned in the past.
The reviewers acknowledged the value the MHIP has contributed to the projects it has been involved with, and saw no opportunities to materially accelerate the projects in the MHIP. All project-level recommendations have been completed or closed, and many of the Programme-level recommendations have already been implemented or are well underway.
The Programme-level themes and actions identified in the review were all consistent with what the IIG had independently identified. The establishment of Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whai Ora present significant opportunities to improve the way in which projects are planned, procured and delivered, and have begun to address the issues that were present when the projects that are in the MHIP were established.
The remaining themes and actions identified have been incorporated into the IIG’s operating model and will be addressed as the model is established ― through an integrated structure and strengthened national functions.
Notably, the deep dive found ample evidence of the value in building central capability and capacity in planning and delivering health infrastructure.
Some redactions have been made to the Technical Review, for instance to protect individuals’ privacy, or where issues are under active consideration or where free and frank advice has been given.
Read the Mental Health Infrastructure Programme Review - Technical Review.
Read the statement on the Technical Review from Te Waihanga.
Contact us
For media enquiries, contact us at hnzmedia@health.govt.nz