This article was originally published on the Canterbury District Health Board website
Ko tīmata – it has begun.
More than 50 people, including manawhenua representatives, gathered on the site on Wednesday morning [January 20] to launch the beginning of the new facilities for the Hillmorton campus with a blessing and sod turning.
Construction of two new clinical buildings and an extension to the campus energy centre begins this week.
It has been a long journey getting to the point of constructing new facilities that will allow the ‘stranded services’ at The Princess Margaret Hospital to join the rest of the Specialist Mental Health team at Hillmorton. For our consumers in Child, Adolescent and Family services, Mothers and Babies, Eating Disorders and Seagar, the new facilities mean they will receive care in an environment that matches the high quality of services currently being delivered.
Recognition was given to staff who are currently going the extra mile to do their best in facilities that aren’t fit for purpose. The development of these facilities will be a quantum step forward.
Led by Ruru Harepeka Nako Hona, Pou Whirinaki for Specialist Mental Health, the occasion also allowed for the presentation of the four Green Star Award from the New Zealand Green Building Council, presented by its Director of Communication and Engagement Jennifer Whittle to Canterbury DHB Executive Lead Facilities Rob Ojala.
Green Star is an internationally recognised mark of sustainable building run by the New Zealand Green Building Council. Created and developed with the industry, Green Star offers an independent benchmark for commercial projects to design, construct and operate in a sustainable, efficient way.
A rating of up to six stars is awarded based on nine categories: Energy, Water, Materials, Indoor Environment Quality, Transport, Land Use and Ecology, Management, Emissions, and Innovation. A four-star rating is considered New Zealand best practice.
The blessing and sod turning mark the beginning of a longer journey – that of the Master Plan for the Hillmorton campus, an exciting time for our Specialist Mental Health Services and all our staff, consumers and whānau.
Over the next 15 years, most buildings on the Hillmorton campus will undergo some level of redevelopment. The two facilities that begin construction this week set the benchmark for those facilities to come – a high bar and one our staff and consumers deserve to have met.