Whanganui Hospital’s mental health patients moved to city location with Te Kōpae getting four months of repairs

Scaffolding is about to be set up around Te Kōpae for work to be carried out over the next four months. Photo / Bevan Conley

Patients and staff at Whanganui Hospital’s mental health unit Te Kōpae have been moved to a facility in the centre of town for the next four months.

The move happened about two weeks ago as an extensive piece of work to update and fix the roof and building at Te Kōpae gets under way.

The patients and staff were moved to the Te Rito site on Wicksteed St about two weeks ago and the DHB’s acting chief executive, Andrew McKinnon, said the move went well.

“Overall I think it went pretty good.

“I was very pleased with the co-operation of clinical staff. We’ve attempted to meet all their needs. It’s very difficult.”

He said he believed the new temporary site had the appropriate level of security and confidentiality in consult rooms.

They had met with staff to make sure there was everything they needed to provide mental health services, but there were a few teething issues, McKinnon said.

With Te Kōpae now empty it would be covered in a scaffold, the building will be wrapped and then have asbestos removed while seismic strengthening is also completed.

McKinnon said the interior of the building would also be updated and he expected work to be completed by the end of October.

As part of the Ministry of Health’s infrastructure programme the Whanganui DHB received $500,000 to go towards the refurbishment of Te Kōpae.

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The business case for it was approved in December 2020 and by February the next year planning was under way with architects preparing documents to tender for the construction work that was needed.

In its April board meeting this year the DHB was told community mental health had a 20 per cent staff vacancy and they were having trouble making appointments – especially in management roles.

There is an external review of the hospital’s mental health and addictions services “to address pressing issues around operational structure, vacancies and the need for more integrated services across the community”, the DHB’s agenda for April said.

The review would focus on how the DHB’s mental health service could have better integration with Waiora Hinengaro at Te Oranganui Trust.