Response HNZ00203632.pdf

1 July 2026
Daniel Prosser
[FYI request #34703 email]
Tēnā koe Daniel
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00203632
Thank you for your email on 14 May 2026, asking Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora for the
following under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA):
I want all information related to your five new rapid build wards you announced. I want to
know where they're going, how the building of them is going, when they'l  be put in place
and what they'l  do when they're open.
I doubt they wil  last 50 years ...
Tel  me what evaluations you've done to prove that these prefab wards wil  be better than
biulding proper buildings. How much wil  it cost to make these work and put them on site?
How many staff and patients and what wil  services wil  be in them? Will they be safe?
On the 3 June 2026 you agreed to refine your request to:
“the latest advice to Ministers for the additional 4 rapid build wards about:
• site selection
• current build status,
• timeframe and use
• cost of implementation
• staffing and patient output
• safety.”
Response
As part of Budget 2025, funding was initially allocated for Hawke’s Bay to receive one temporary
inpatient unit, followed by funding for three more across other hospitals, which was announced in
June 2025. Through a robust, competitive procurement process, Health NZ has been able
to secure five units within the original funding envelope for four. This means five regional hospitals
wil  benefit from this investment, maximising taxpayer value and accelerating delivery.  The five
modular inpatient units wil  provide 140 additional beds across New Zealand.
Southbase Construction has been appointed as the design and build contractor. The modular units
are being manufactured in factories operated by Portacom and Fitzgerald Construction, both
subcontractors to Southbase Construction. Portacom, based in Auckland, is delivering the units for
Hawke’s Bay, Middlemore, Waikato, and Wellington. Fitzgerald Construction is delivering the
Nelson unit, which is being built on a temporary site in Richmond.

Site Selection
The site maps that show the physical location of each interim inpatient unit are provided in
Appendix Two.
Current Build Status
The location for the interim inpatient unit at Middlemore Hospital has been confirmed and off-site
manufacturing has begun. Ground works have begun at Nelson Hospital and construction on site
has commenced in Hawke’s Bay with ground works well underway.
Table 1 below shows the project stage of each interim inpatient unit.
Timeframe and Use
As with any infrastructure investment, there are numerous moving parts, including factors beyond
our control, which can influence completion timeframes. However, the current expected completion
dates are provided in Table 1 below:
Table 1: Project Stage and estimated project completion dates
Project
Stage
Forecast Practical
Forecast Go live*
Completion
Nelson
Construction
Q4 2026
Q4 2026
Hawke’s Bay
Construction
Q3 2026
Q3 2026
Middlemore
Construction
Q1 2027
Q1 2027
Waikato
Design
Q2 2027
Q2 2027
Wellington
Design
Q3 2027
Q3 2027
*As at 8 June 2026

NOTES

•  Go live dates are subject to individual hospitals securing operational budgets to support
staffing uplifts.
•  Quarterly dates are based on calendar year.

Please refer to Appendix Two for the most recent status update for each of the interim inpatient
units provided as an excerpt under section 16(1)(e) of the OIA. The dates in Table 1 above are
more recent than the dates provided in the excerpt.

Some information in the excerpt is being withheld under section 9(2)(f)(iv) as it is currently the
subject of decisions by Ministers. Please note that the remainder of the document is out of scope
of this request.

The role each interim inpatient unit wil  provide is specific to each site, this is detailed on page 7 of
the Approval to Deliver Business Case, which is publicly available Appendix-1-AtD-Interim-
Inpatient-Bed-Capacity-Programme.pdf
Cost of Implementation
At this time the cost of implementation is being withheld under section 9(2)(b)(i ) of the OIA, as if
released, it would be likely to unreasonably prejudice the commercial position of the person who
supplied or who is the subject of the information.

Staffing and Patient Output

Please refer to Appendix One which set out the projected staffing requirements for each interim
inpatient unit. This was provided to the Minister in the Approval to Deliver business case but
withheld in the proactive release. Due to the passage of time, we are now able to release this to
you.

Each interim inpatient unit has a 28-bed capacity, and the turnover of those beds is dependent on
many factors such as what the unit wil  be used for and the length of stay required by the patient.

Safety
Each interim inpatient unit wil  comply with all applicable New Zealand Building Code requirements
and are designed in accordance with the Australasian Health Facility Guidelines (AusHFG),
ensuring they provide a safe, durable, functional and high-quality clinical environment. While the
construction methodology is modular and enables faster delivery, this does not represent a
reduction in quality, safety or clinical functionality. The units are intended to provide a high-quality
patient and staff environment equivalent to that expected of permanent healthcare facilities.

Where we have withheld information under section 9(2) of the OIA, we have considered any
countervailing public interests in the release of this information. We do not believe that the public
interests outweigh the need to withhold in this instance.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at [email address].
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Health NZ may proactively
release a copy of this response on our website. Al  requester data, including your name and
contact details, wil  be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā

Matthew McLay
Manager, Government Services
Health New Zealand I Te Whatu Ora

Appendix One
Table One: Annual Incremental Workforce Requirements, with average across all sites as a
benchmark

FTE*
Average
Hawke’s
Nelson
Wellingt
Middlem
Waikato
Total
Across
Bay
on
ore
All Sites
SMO
1.57
1.56
1.61
1.61
1.50
1.56
7.84
RMO
6.42
7.00
7.26
7.26
3.60
7.00
32.11
Nursing
50.28
47.04
52.27
52.27
52.79
47.04
251.4
Allied
7.85
6.91
7.17
7.17
11.10
6.91
39.26
Health
Support
3.21
2.04
2.04
2.04
7.90
2.04
16.06
Administ
1.51
1.31
1.31
1.31
2.30
1.31
7.53
ration
Manage
ment
* Full-time Equivalent Staff

TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Health NZ, PO Box 793,
Wel ington 6140, New Zealand