"Project Maunga" Consultants announced.

01/07/2009

Taranaki DHB Chief Executive Tony Foulkes and Project Director Ian Grant meet with some of the Project Maunga consultants at Taranaki Base Hospital.

Project Maunga has reached a significant milestone with the appointment of specialised consultants to work on the redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital.

TDHB Chief Executive Tony Foulkes is pleased to announce the following appointments:

• The consultants for architecture and health planning are a partnership of Warren & Mahoney (Christchurch), Silver Thomas Hanley (Melbourne), supported by Ardern Peters Architects (New Plymouth).
• Holmes Consulting (Wellington) and Nagel Consultants (New Plymouth) will provide structural engineering services.
• The building engineering consultant is Beca (Auckland, with support from the New Plymouth branch).
• The quantity surveyor consultant is Rider Levett Bucknall (Auckland, with support from the Palmerston North branch).

The appointments have come after an extensive selection process.

“I am confident we will have a great team to work with our staff and develop a fantastic new facility tailor-made for the Taranaki people,” Mr Foulkes says.

He says the appointment of national and Australian firms has been important to bring the skills and experience required for a major project such as this. “We also wanted to support local firms by giving them the opportunity to work on this exciting project where possible.”

Project Director Ian Grant, of NCOUNTER GROUP, says the calibre of applicants was extremely high. “We’ve chosen what we believe are the best firms for the project. The consultant groups have an extensive breadth of expertise in hospital design. They bring a huge understanding of what’s required to design a modern, efficient, patient-friendly healthcare facility.”

The consultants will be involved with the project until stage one is completed and the buildings are occupied.

Mr Grant says the project is progressing well, with the formation of user groups and the Clinical Reference Group, which will provide clinical advice to the project.  The user groups are made up of Taranaki DHB staff and community group representatives. They will decide on the principles behind the design.

Work on models of care is continuing in preparation for the redevelopment. This is an opportunity to improve patient flow through better processes and supporting staff delivering care. “It’s not just a new building, it’s also a new and better way of providing services,” Mr Grant says.

More information about the project can be found on the Taranaki District Health Board website.