Burwood Hospital open day this weekend

The public will get a chance to look through Burwood Hospital's new 230-bed facility this weekend.

The new specialist unit for Older Persons' Health will be open to the public between 10am and 2pm this Sunday. 

Canterbury District Health Board chief executive David Meates said staff had put in huge hours of work tocreate a fit for purpose facility that meets the needs of patients and staff.

“I’m absolutely delighted to welcome the community in to view this fabulous facility at our Open Day on Sunday and I’m sure it won’t disappoint,” Mr Meates said.

“It’s patient and family/whanau-centred, lean and efficient, supports teaching and learning, is clinically effective and most importantly, it’s aligned with the transformation of Canterbury’s health system to deliver the right care, at the right time, in the right place, by the right person.

“Key concepts in the design have included the idea of wellness, and ‘long life, loose fit’, which means the design will allow spaces to be used for different functions over time.”

The ward at Burwood Hospital's new $230 million facility.

The public open day followed an official blessing on Thuresday, before nearly 300 staff and more than 100 patients from The Princess Margaret Hospital move in to the new wards during the second week of June.

“Planning for the big move has been meticulous and includes everything from identifying the best route across town and the menu for the packed lunches for patients on their move day, to what equipment needs to move and what stays behind,'' Mr Meates said.

“It’s been a mammoth undertaking to get to this point and the teams have done an absolutely amazing job. I’m really excited we are now so close to moving into this exceptional new facility, which will see the Canterbury Health System well into the future.”

Key features of the new hospital include:

•  Increased Older Persons’ Mental Health beds including a seclusion room, more Brain Injury Rehabilitation beds, Older Persons’ Stroke Rehabilitation beds, along with a single level ward area for Older Persons’ Mental Health beds with a high dependency room.

• Half of the rooms are single rooms, with the other half accommodating two beds. Rooms have TVs, wifi and each ward has communal dining areas for patients and family/whanau rooms. 

• The new main entrance area includes a reception with a café, retail pharmacy and volunteer shop, and offices for support staff. 

• The new Radiology Department includes an MRI, CT, two ultrasound rooms, fluoroscopy, and five general x-ray rooms. 

• A new Outpatient Department includes a blood collection service area.

 Entry for the open day is off Burwood Rd, just before the Champion Centre at 284 Burwood Rd.