Southern Cross Hospital

Southern Cross Healthcare’s $11m expansion of its Taranaki hospital has added two new operating theatres bringing the total to six, and a 12-bed post-anaesthesia care unit, a 13-chair day-procedure recovery area and a car park extension. The improved capacity will allow the hospital to better meet the increasing healthcare needs of the Taranaki region.  

RCP brought its wealth of project management expertise in the healthcare space to the job. The company was engaged as the design and project manager, and engineer to the contract, overseeing the project through design and construction. RCP also maintained strategic oversight to ensure that the upgrades were cognisant of the hospital’s long-term plan. 

Work involved a significant extension to the existing Southern Cross hospital while managing the interface with two sides of the existing facility. Maintaining operational continuity of the live hospital was paramount. It took careful staging and planning to successfully limit disruption. The interface also required an appreciation for the impact the new works would have on the existing infrastructure – seamless connectivity between the two systems was critical. 

With ‘boots on the ground’, RCP was able to leverage its strong regional relationships and its understanding of how things work locally. It tapped into the Taranaki resource pool and built a team comprised entirely of local contractors and subcontractors. RCP’s good relationship with the local council was also invaluable as it navigated the compliance process, which was complicated by integration of the old with the new.